Survival, Science, and Psychology
by Protoxone
Summary: To be faced with adversity is to choose between being overwhelmed and overcoming that which blocks your way. To be faced with reality is to choose between ignorance and understanding. To face thyself is to deny growth or gain what you lack. These are hurdles all sentient beings face many times in life. There are only two paths to failure. There are many to success.
1. Chapter 1

What's up? I've been on this site for a while, but this is my first post. But none of you care about that. Just a disclaimer, this story will get more AU as it goes on and I've got some crossovers planned for the future. They just won't show up for quite a while. This is just the prologue, so it's about 6,000 words short of what I'll typically aim for.

Oh and the typical I don't own Naruto or any other anime/franchises I use/reference

 _ **IMPORTANT UPDATE:  
**_ This story is now all considered a prologue (currently unfinished 12/29/18) and will be updated slowly. This is not a necessary read for the most part in order to make sense of the main story I am uploading. For more info, see the final chapter of this story.

* * *

Prologue

" _People don't ever think from another persons perspective, if they did they might understand someone plight more. Humans are so often blind like that." - Naruto Uzumaki_

* * *

A lone child ran through a dark, dank sewer. His legs carrying his slightly malnourished body as quickly as they could with a package in his hands. As the child was running, he couldn't help his mind wandering to the bitter, cynical view that had been bred by his circumstances.

He was cursed, he had been soon after he was born. But of course he wasn't supposed to know that, he was supposed to be an innocent boy with no knowledge of why his village held him at arms length at best. How that old Hokage could believe so blindly in his people that they could just let go of their anger, anguish, and hate those eight years ago, the boy couldn't fathom. Maybe he was going senile or the old man subconsciously held some resentment for the small boy as well? It was a logical conclusion, the man had lost his wife in the attack, after all. And no matter how wise, humans could not stop the flow of their subconscious desires.

The boy's thoughts were ended on that depressing subject as a minuscule ray of moonlight pierced the darkness, one that had an unnatural off white coloring - unnoticeable to even many shinobi if not looking for anything out of the ordinary. The ray came down from a manhole cover that had an odd triangular marking on it. This was his stop, where he needed to get out to deliver the package.

The young boy strapped the package to his back and proceeded to climb up the ladder, struggling with the cover at the top, but with incredible strength for a boy his age and stature, he pushed the cover off with some leverage of a small piece of metal sticking into the edge of the manhole. Enough to not bend when being used as leverage and small enough to not be taken note of even in the unlikely event of anyone suitably observant passing over it.

As the boy climbed out of the manhole, his features, while still darkened and vague, became illuminated by the faint light of the moon. Bright blonde, spiky hair with splotches of dirt and grime that flowed down to his shoulders with a hood drawn back behind his head and a mask over his face. If looked at carefully, a spot of red at some tips of his hair might be noticed. He donned a worn, black track suit with a few tears on it that revealed his slightly underweight and, paradoxically, thinly toned body. He had on scuffed sandals being held onto his feet by some straps across the top in the style Jiraiya of the Sannin, only his were decidedly not wooden.

Looking left and right, the boy checked for any movement and then made his way down the alley to his left. At the end of the alley was what appeared to be a dead end with some beaten up bricks. Some not even looking to be held together by the mortar it had been laid with.

'Now lets see,' the boy thought to himself, 'top left pushed in, middle pulled out, and bottom right pushed in, and there, done.' The boy then kicked the wall three times and the wall shuddered and silently opened a path with some stairs leading down. The boy idly noticed the wall closing as he walked down.

As the boy reached the bottom of the steps, he came to a steel door with a slot in it. As he knocked on the door, the slot opened and a deep, rumbling voice echoed into the otherwise empty staircase demanding a suitable answer or consequences would occur, "Password and business."

Though intimidating enough to make most his age tear up in fright or out right cry, this boy was anything but normal. So, mustering the strongest voice he could, he answered " _Ewige Schlaf._ I'm here to deliver a package to the boss." His attempt at his voice being intimidating, while admirable, predictably couldn't hold a candle to the older man's voice. After all, despite what he could do and had seen, he was still a child.

After a brief wait and the sound of some paper being flipped, the door opened and the intimidating voice was matched to an intimidating body covered in shadows. The man addressed the boy once more, "I assume you know the way?" The boy nodded, after all this was far from the first time he'd been here. This guy had likely been punished with this duty since he had to ask. The man continued, his voice now only a notch under the growl it had been, "Then go, the Boss isn't a patient man."

The young carrier nodded cordially and walked with purpose through the underground compound as the man closed the door behind him. After a few twists, the boy came to a door that was charmingly decorated with teeth - one he recognized as having gained one since he had last been here - and knocked, stating his purpose to those inside. After hearing a call of enter, the boy opened the door and walked in with an impassive look on his face, even as he took the package off his back and handed it to a man standing to the left of the Boss.

The Boss, as he was known, gazed back at the roughed up boy, waiting for the confirmation of the package that he knew would come, after all though young, this runner had only failed a successful retrieval a few times, and those were when he was just starting out. After hearing confirmation of being checked for anything harmful and having it handed over to him, the Boss spoke "As expected Naruto, though you seem a bit ruffled. Had a little trouble did we?"

The boy named Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man. He wouldn't get paid until he humored the man, so he did "There were a few complications getting the package. I was ambushed by two Chunin at the checkpoint, but I escaped without being identified. The supplier, however, was caught."

The Boss nodded and motioned for the man on his right to pay the boy. After he was payed, the Boss spoke again "This seems to be happening more often lately, should I assume that you're getting sloppy?" The man knew this wasn't true - he often was the one to tip the Chunin off after all - but it amused him to get on the boys nerves.

The boy, for his part, barely changed his facial expression from what it was, save for a twitch of the eyebrow and a hint of annoyance entering his eyes. He'd learned long ago how his employer liked to poke at him and he needed this job, so he couldn't insult him or his contact. "The one who delivered it was the sloppy one if he was followed like that. It was also probably a result of the more illegal things you're importing if Konoha is willing to spend manpower like that." Well not too much at least. He did still have his pride.

The Boss' lips twitched seeing such a response from the young boy. He hadn't told his runner - or anyone for that matter - what he was importing. Someone could slip up and mention it and that would be no good for him. Though most runners did what they were told without thinking, or kept those thoughts to themselves, this one was intelligent and had some balls to talk back to him, if only a little.

After a while of just staring each other down, the Boss dismissed the blond to do whatever he did in his free time here with a wave of his hand.

Naruto, though not showing it, happily left the room and made his way over to a large room with drinks being served and some light entertainment. The blonde made his way over to a corner where a lone older man sat. The older man didn't look like too much except for being covered head to toe in clothing barring the top half of his face and his flowing silver-gray hair. Even with the top of his face revealed, one could guess his age being anywhere from his early 20's to late 50's. Anyone who had been to the underground club more than a few times could recognize the man that seemed to be drinking his sorrows away, but only Naruto knew who he was.

Or at least he was pretty sure of who it was - the man had never actually given him his name. He knew the man was likely in his late 40's or mid 50's, and from the upper back length and color of his hair, along with his physique, and his more than competent knowledge and application of the shinobi arts, Naruto guessed this man to be Sakumo Hatake, the renowned - and then disgraced White Fang. How no one seemed to notice this but him, the boy couldn't fathom. Perhaps it was because most just put him at the back of their minds after he had been disgraced and thought dead.

Regardless, Naruto walked up to the man and sat down in his booth, addressing the man in a whisper as he had introduced himself months ago when they met, "So Kage-sensei, what will you teach me today?"

The man smiled beneath his mask as he looked at Naruto, fond of the boy from the time they had spent together. Though Naruto may not outwardly show too much emotion due to what he'd unfortunately had to go through, he could see the intelligence and hunger to learn in those eyes. He even thought that Naruto had figured out who he was, but refrained from asking out of respect. This incredible boy would never cease to impress him. His thirst for knowledge and determination to learn anything surpassed anything he'd ever seen. Even things most people would find obsolete, the child still tried his hardest to learn and connect to relevant situations.

And connect whatever he learned, he did, showing insight few could ever have. If he could keep that attitude, he would just grow more the older he got. But those thoughts could be dwelt on later, his apprentice was waiting for his answer. "Well today I think I'll test you in what we've been doing for the past few months. See if I've been wasting my time or not." After he said this, he ordered some water for Naruto, and began quizzing the boy's knowledge on anything he'd taught him and some things he'd not from mathematics to physics to history to chakra theory.

Naruto, with that little flame that sparked in his eyes whenever he wanted to overcome an obstacle proceeded to answer every question correctly. He only needed to take time doing some work for the more complex mathematical aspects, and even that was quite short.

After an hour or so of testing his theoretical knowledge, Sakumo got up and bid Naruto to follow him to the small training fields in the underground compound, typically used for underground fights, to test the practical capabilities of his unofficial apprentice.

Naruto, knowing what was to come, became excited, that sliver of battle lust slipping through his mask. This was his favorite part of training, the combat part. It had taken a while for Sakumo to move on and teach him, but it was well worth it. Before Sakumo, for that was who he was in his mind, he had only learned anything like that through experience and books, and while both were great, books could only do so much and he had tended toward stealth rather than fighting back during the few scuffles he could have gotten into as that would only result in more pain with too little progress. So as they arrived at the improvised training ground, Naruto was excited to get started.

Facing each other, Naruto dropped into the fighting stance he had been taught even as across from him Sakumo only stood there in a casual slouch. This might have annoyed Naruto more if he didn't know Sakumo could crush him in the time it took to blink if he was serious. Maybe even an eighth of a blink of the eye.

Knowing this was to test him, and as such Sakumo would wait for him to make the first move, Naruto moved faster than any eight year old had a right to, crossing the 50 feet that separated them in seconds and lashing out with a fist to the easiest most sensitive spot he could easily reach on the ground, the crotch. Predictably, his hand was caught, but he used his momentum to flip his body and bring down a kick on Sakumo's head.

As expected, this too was caught, so with his free leg he kicked again to distract for a precious second while he drew a hidden kunai from a pouch on the inside of his sleeve and aimed to cut Sakumo's stomach open. He couldn't do any less if he wanted to even scratch the man he was sparring.

Sakumo showed that even though he was getting on in years, he could still move with grace unmatched by nearly anyone on the continent by letting Naruto go and front flipping over his apprentice. Naruto recovered by rolling in the air to land on a knee even as he pulled out shuriken, coating them in chakra as he went, and throwing them at Sakumo's turning form.

This, Naruto knew, wasn't even close to enough to catch the White Fang off guard and ran through a series of hand signs ending on _bird_ as he then pushed his hands out, sub-vocalizing the name of the technique, 'Futon: Great Breakthrough _ **.**_ ' Sakumo dodged right, running into the strong wind as he did so, though he was only blown back slightly, the quick application of chakra to his feet keeping him grounded.

Now Sakumo went on a light offensive, throwing a few shuriken at Naruto equivalent to about Chunin level, and Naruto narrowly dodged them as he charged Sakumo while drawing a tanto from his back and running chakra through it. As he reached Sakumo, his horizontal strike was parried, and Naruto turned with it while ducking to dodge a slash at his head and came around with another slash to Sakumo's knees, his strike missing by a narrow margin. A margin that should have dug half way into his knee.

Narrowing his eyes at this development, Naruto retreated a few meters and put his hands into the _ram_ hand sign and proceeded to pulse his chakra, breaking the Genjutsu that had been put on him. Likely as he'd been charging the White Fang.

After doing this, he heard Sakumo clapping, almost mockingly, as he said, "Well Naruto it seems you finally noticed the genjutsu I placed on you. Maybe you could scratch by in the Academy if you really tried and got lucky with a pitying teacher." Sakumo knew this wasn't true - even when Academy standards had been higher students wouldn't be expected to pick up such a subtle Genjutsu - but he did it because it would push Naruto even harder. Plus it would teach him to control his anger. Truthfully, in straight combat Naruto was scraping the level of a Chunin, even better in stealth, and his pure reserves were ridiculous. His reserves were at Jonin level easily, though with those kinds of reserves at such a young age came a lot of work in trying to control them effectively. While much better than when they started, the boy still wasted a lot of chakra.

Of course, with who his parents were and what was inside of him, it wasn't all that surprising. Honestly it was a wonder more people hadn't at least guessed whose kid he was with his looks.

'Ahh,' Sakumo thought as a he absently dodged a barrage of shuriken and dispelled a weak, sloppy genjutsu, 'Well it might have something to do with people's shortsightedness when faced with something they want to ignore.'

The White Fang looked at Naruto as he popped a smoke bomb to hide his movement. A conventional move for any decent shinobi, and while Naruto was many things, conventional he was not. With this knowledge, Sakumo prepared himself for an unconventional maneuver, but what he sensed confused him a bit.

What he was sensing seemed to be two different elements from the same spot, almost like what a bloodliner of a sub element felt like, but not nearly as refined. His eyes widened slightly as he realized what Naruto was about to attempt, then he smirked beneath his mask slightly.

Naruto seemed to have found the loophole use two elements at once, something those without a bloodline tended to find nearly impossible regardless of experience. For Naruto to be able to do this, he must have practiced for months on end and had a ridiculous affinity towards elemental attacks.

Sakumo was proven right as Naruto burst out of the smoke to the left holding two single handed seals and puffed cheeks. The boy released his breath into the raging inferno of Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu as he slammed both hands in front of him, releasing another _**Great Breakthrough**_ to further fuel the fire, increasing its heat and speed.

However, Sakumo didn't become known throughout the continent by being weak. Placing his hands into the standard hand sign for channeling earth natured chakra, he slammed his hands onto the ground causing a slab of solid earth to shoot up, blocking the fireball, though scorching it and the ground around it for several yards.

Trying to catch his opponent off guard, Naruto had charged in behind his fire ball, despite his aching body, and vaulted over the wall just after the impact. So close was he to his attack that he burst through a few of the flickering walls of flames being dispersed.

Never one to let his guard down even in a match like this, the White Fang easily caught the blade aimed for his head, snapped his hand around his opponent's wrist, and spun in such a way that he ended behind Naruto with the boys own sword poised to slit his throat.

Knowing when he was defeated, Naruto gave the verbal surrender for the spar that he knew Sakumo required. Directly after this and having his arm freed, Naruto stumbled before regaining his balance and turning to face his sensei.

Sakumo observed the spitfire in front of him. The boy's clothes were singed and he had sweat pouring down his body. In addition to this, his body, particularly his arms were shaking, even if slightly. Sakumo may not have hit him even once, but it was clear that last attack Naruto pulled was not anywhere near mastered or even truly combat ready. The shaking in his arms was unnatural, even for an attack like that, so there must be more than meets the eye.

Sakumo proceeded to activate a basic diagnostic medical Justu to see if he could get a better idea of what was wrong. After finishing the diagnostic, The White Fang gave Naruto a measured look and spoke, "That was a very reckless move you pulled. Your chakra system isn't ready for that kind of an influx with your level of control and experience," he paused and gave the child a disapproving look before continuing, "You have some minor internal bleeding in your arms and more strain than is healthy on your chakra cooils, along with some slight burns in your throat. You shouldn't be so reckless."

Naruto merely stared resolutely, before defending his actions, "I know it was risky, but when facing a superior opponent, it is best to try to take them off balance with the element of surprise. To do this I would have to do something you didn't know about that could hold your attention for even a second while I attacked. You taught me that," here he paused before adding in a low mutter, "Besides, I've always healed fast."

The two shinobi stared at each other for an indiscernible amount of time before Sakumo spoke, "I see. Well you did surprise me, but you need to practice more before that is battle ready. Perhaps you'll even be able to recreate the scorch release with enough practice."

Hearing this, Naruto merely tilted his head to acknowledge the point and had a fire in his eyes ready to keep improving. No, he was not beaming at the praise. Naruto did not _beam._ Instead he asked, "So what will you be teaching me today?"

Sakumo smirked behind his mask, thinking of the tort - err, training that he would be putting Naruto through. "Well…."


	2. Chapter 2

I'm back with my second chapter. Sorry for the wait. I wrote this over a year ago. It was the first thing I wrote so now as I'm going back to edit I usually have to rewrite at least half the chapter. Can't say I'm 100% happy, but I don't think I'll ever be with any chapter. Plus I was busy with a bunch of end of year school stuff.

This one's a bit long and I don't plan on making them quite this long in the future (probably more along the lines of 8k to 10k words). Also a couple questions on if you have any preferences because I can't quite decide. 1) Preferences on how I should note techniques/Doton/Raiton, etc. Just regular, **bold** , _**bold and italics,**_ _italics,_ or something else. 2) Names - should I do first, last or last, first. Keep in mind this will eventually span different continents/cultures/languages so I'm not sure how deep in I want go into it for now. 3) I'm probably not gonna use suffixes in any great amount when people are speaking. It will be more or less depending on the character but I'll try to cut down on them. Other than that, I hope you enjoy the chapter and leave any advice/things you liked/etc. in the reviews.

* * *

 **Revelations and Red Eyes**

Naruto woke up the day after his training with Sakumo and promptly had to hold in a groan. Apparently Sakumo had been in a particularly sadistic mood that night and had proceeded to have him do push ups.

With only six fingers.

While sitting on his back.

Of course he wouldn't complain, after all he wanted to get strong and he didn't need to be coddled like some child. He had faced challenge after challenge his whole life alone after all.

So with a final thought of this, he grabbed his orange sweat suit to go along with the bright facade he put up to get the villagers to not scrutinize him or any skills he might accidentally display. He wasn't perfect after all and running from ninja on duty helped gain some practical application without getting too much attention.

For now though, he had to leave the house and make sure to be seen in the village before sneaking off to Training Ground 44. If he was outside public view for long periods of time people would grow uneasy. They might not like to have him around, but his presence also reassured them of their safety in some twisted fashion. Being away too long only grew extra scrutiny he didn't want.

Before leaving his apartment he absently walked up to his roof and watered his various plants, some in plain sight, albeit if viewed from above, and others hidden within those plants or by some Genjutsu-like seals Sakumo had gifted him. The visible plants were typical garden variety plants such as tomatoes and peppers to supplement any meals he bought or stole. He might have felt a bit of remorse for stealing if he had either been treated fairly or not grown up in a village where stealing was part of the main profession. As it was he stole whatever he felt he could get away with.

Regardless of his less than stellar morals, the food he grew was an important part of his little garden; however, he hid more dangerous plants along with them. He was still new to raising plants - especially ones potentially detrimental to humans - so he didn't have any terribly rare plants - he had taken some from the forest of death and other suppliers he could bargain with. His plants had only a few effects of various magnitudes at the moment, but the point was to experiment with them and blend them together to see how well he could make a poison or some other type of substance.

Such practice also had other uses and taught precision as well as identification of plants. Not recognizing one or seeing it as a different type than it is could result in very bad things happening. A prime example of mixing and matching things haphazardly, intentionally or not, could result in some truly grotesque things - Training Ground 44 showing these effects with its unique ecosystem. At least he assumed that was part of why that place was so crazy.

Even with these dangerous combinations, the Forest of Death taught many valuable lessons and was an interesting place to conduct analysis and any future experiments. Perhaps he could even make a summoning contract for some of its mutated species or if not just the strongest in the forest.

After Naruto finished watering his garden, he walked out onto the streets of the Red Light District. He didn't know who thought it was a good idea to put a child in the most shady part of the village, but many things this village did were illogical. He refused to call this place home. He had heard what a home was from a number of people and he couldn't remember experiencing it. The closest something came to being a home for him was his time spent training with Sakumo.

Funnily enough, the people in the Red Light District, the supposed bums and outcasts of the village, treated him more normally than the 'civilized' populace did. Here, most ignored him or the occasional nod like they would anyone else instead of whispered insults and subtle scorn. Of course they were all horrible at whispering and even without his admittedly keen senses from training and enhancements from being a Jinchuriki he would likely have been able to hear them. Sakumo had informed him Jinchuriki tended to receive minor enhancements from their tenants, even ones as tightly locked as his - without using the word Jinchuriki of course. It was better to avoid bringing up things like that in general conversation. Especially since the penalty for talking about it openly was unpleasant to say the least. It would be better it was never mentioned on the off chance they were overheard.

Of course during the night the people got a bit ballsier the few times he was caught outside his apartment. Even then there were often traps set up when he got back, though most were pitiful and he now viewed them more as extra supplies than anything.

Entering the 'civilized' part of the village was when the whispering started, and it got a bit more annoying to keep that cheesy grin on his face having to be reminded everywhere he looked just why he had to keep up this visage. It reminded him of his helplessness to escape. Deciding that he wanted to get this over with a bit more quickly, Naruto set up a minor prank quickly after rounding a bend into a deserted alley near the forest to show the civilians he was still there before sneaking off to Training Ground 44.

Coming upon the sight of his favored training ground, Naruto thought of how it was a bit overrated in the fear department. Sure it looked intimidating on the outside, and on the inside the sites that weren't quarantined were a bit intimidating, but a competent team of Genin should be able to hold their own pretty easily for a few days at least. The quarantined sections were the intimidating part of the forest and most people didn't even know it had sections, they just thought it was one big terrifying forest. The reason most people didn't see the quarantine sections was because they had Fuinjutsu barriers blocking those without the know how to even notice it was there. Fortunately it wasn't too difficult to get in by knowing the correct code to bypass it once you knew where it was, otherwise it was quite a formidable barrier. He had gleaned the solution to each after many days of studying each seal matrix for the barriers. There were different codes for each section and he had spent a great deal of time locating the seal matrixes just to decode them.

The true monsters of the forest of death were in those closed off sections and were used nearly exclusively for ANBU training. The only other times they were used were for the rare scientific research study and gathering rare materials to be used as poison or medicine, though that usually doubled as ANBU training. He had only gone in there due to curiosity and his own ignorance of just how dangerous those quarantined sections could be. It was this experience where he learned the phrase 'curiosity killed the cat.' He nearly died the first time he went in there because of how much he had underestimated its danger. He did find out, however, that even the least dangerous of the quarantined zones would eat most Genin teams alive. Literally in most cases.

The only reason he had survived was through a lot of luck, his skill in stealth, and what he guessed was an innate fear of what he held captive. Now he knew how to navigate those areas even without being what the recommended level of skill to survive likely was, even if it was taxing on his mind to keep such a high level of awareness up for so long. Now he only went there to explore and to observe the area to see if there were any plants that could be useful that he could take with him. For the most part though Naruto would only take a sample of the plant and experiment with that after planting a back up.

Regardless, analysis and collection was not why he was here today. Today he was here to explore a hidden compound he had found on his last trip. He was quite eager to explore it as well because from the look he had of it while copying the Fuinjutsu lock he needed to crack, it seemed to be pretty old. And that meant secrets that could've been lost to the past.

So going towards where the barrier was and activating the necessary measures to allow him to pass, he went into Quarantine Area Number 3. Maneuvering his way around any dangerous plants and animals, he went to the Northwestern edge of the area and opened the well hidden trap door after bypassing another set of Fuinjutsu locks that had taken him a few days to decipher.

Dropping down about 6 meters to the floor, Naruto looked around the dark room. He couldn't see much because the only light source was what came through from the hatch after getting through the somewhat thick canopy of the forest, but he could make out some basic shapes with his trained eye.

It was a small room with only a desk with what looked to be some papers and books to his left and right. Past those were corridors leading off to both sides of this underground compound. In the right and left corner opposite him were two benches with a table between them and what looked to be some type of carving in the middle of the wall, though he couldn't make out what it was with such low light.

Turning around, he saw a seal matrix of some sort that, after a moment of inspection, he determined was a switch to light the compound - or at least this room - with an application of chakra. It didn't look to be deteriorated any either so it must have been made by someone fairly skilled. Seeing nothing else, he applied chakra to the seal and was fascinated at the results.

As soon as he applied chakra, the trap door above him closed silently as lights slowly turned on, getting brighter slowly so as to not give a shock of light too quickly.

He took in his surroundings in more detail now that he could see clearly. As he expected, everything was covered in a light layer of dust and the air itself seemed to be old. The books and papers on the desk looked to have been laid there a little haphazardly and a glance revealed quite a few wrinkled spots on the paper. The result of dried tears, he deduced. Odd and something he could dwell over once he confirmed the room was not trapped and took it in with the new light.

The walls seemed to be flawless even after years of disuse, so he suspected some seals helped maintain its strength in addition to the wooden supports he could see. This indicated that this place was created by a master of _Doton_ , something that was pretty rare overall. Masters of any element were difficult to find. Even those that claimed to be a master often were not truly a master. Sakumo had informed him that there were standardized tests for each element set dating back to the founding of the village that would truly grant the title of master even if it had fallen out of use, though the man hadn't told him why. He assumed it was because that may give away certain skills a master may have developed.

He stopped trying to theorize who created this place based on so far rather vague clues, Naruto decided he would save that for later as it would likely become apparent as he searched the compound. Instead, he turned to what he could previously see as a mark on the wall. Now he could see clearly what the symbol was. He recognized it immediately. He did not recognize the symbol itself, but rather all of its components he had seen separately. It was a combination of three Clan Crests carved as if it was one. Namely the symbols of the Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki, the Senju's being the center that connected the other two.

He knew of the Uchiha's red and white fan from many personal experiences in avoiding them and the Senju from a number of books and seeing their symbol around the village. He only knew the last one to be of the Uzumaki because Sakumo had informed him when he had asked why the flak jackets most Chunin and Jonin had the red, spiraling symbol. The man had been gracious enough to be honest, admitting that most information on the once great Uzumaki Clan had been completely censored to Genin and lower ranked and even at Chunin the information on them was now sparse at best. He had said it was because most of their work had been for higher security clearance levels than Chunin and because they were all but extinct, so much of their data had been stricken from books, most only silently or unknowingly paying respect to Konoha's once great ally through the symbol on their flak jackets.

Sakumo had told him they were masters of seals and had done great work in Konoha when they were around. Seal masters were rare and quite formidable, so he believed what his teacher had said. In spite of that, he privately speculated it was also so the youngest generation would not question so much why he was ostracized if he was from such a clan.

Regardless, this was a phenomenal discovery. Whoever had created this compound trusted other clans enough to share it. He doubted, reasonably, that anything of great value to any of the three clans was here; however, just the fact that they trusted each other enough for this was incredible, especially considering the age of this place. Clans were more quite a bit more paranoid even just a couple of decades back, and as far as he knew there had been very few Uzumaki who were permanent residents Konoha. Plus the Senju had been nearly extinct now for over twenty years. There was still the odd Senju to enter the Ninja Corps, but the few that were left tended to stay as civilians. The only powerful one left was Tsunade of the Sannin and she hadn't been in Konoha for years. A shame that a clan of such potential had been brought so low.

Looking back to the beds, he saw both mattresses covered by red sheets, the one on the right two shades brighter than the maroon color of the left. Having beds in this room seemed impractical, especially as it was the entrance. This meant that it was probably meant to be more symbolic than functional, showing that they could sleep in the same room without having to worry about the other slitting their throat. A show of trust unprecedented between even clans of today. Perhaps this was more a retreat between friends than an open compound for those three clans.

Wanting to find out more about this intriguing place after he had used his sharp eyes to determine there were no pressure plates or other similar traps, he went to the desk to see if he could find out anything. After blowing and wiping off the dust that had settled on it, Naruto glanced at the spread out papers.

What he saw made his eyes widen. The papers were the theory of some insanely powerful combination attacks catered towards different situations and squad formations/battle plans for four people in different setting with different team members. Just a two person combination attack on its own was difficult to pull off after knowing a single person for years. Not only because of the timing required, but also to have the techniques help each other instead of hindering one another. This had plans for any possible combination of two people, three people, and all four together. He hadn't even heard of a four person combo. The most he had heard of that was actually a combo was of three ANBU members he had heard rumor of in the Red Light District and in Boss' place, but most agreed it was mostly by luck and desperation.

Examining it more closely showed that each technique used alone were massively destructive and difficult to use. The number of situations thought put into consideration also indicated the work of an incredible tactician. He couldn't even decipher how a lot of these things might work due to both a lack of practical experience and knowledge on much of the theory written.

After an examination of each individual, he determined their main arsenal of techniques and who had built this compound.

The first person had a main arsenal of _Suiton_ techniques supplemented mostly by _Raiton_ and a sword that was highly attuned to lightning, the _Raijin no Ken._ The second was mainly suited to Fuinjutsu in their style with some _Suiton_ techniques. The third person had the largest arsenal in terms of number of elements, capable of using every basic element, Katon being the main one, with some hint towards being able to create sub elements - though weak relative to the basic elements - and the use of a Gunbai for close combat. The fourth - and one that truly confirmed the creators of the compound - was the front line tank and - oddly enough - the main medic. He was proficient in hand-to-hand combat, the use of a number of weapons, and _Mokuton_ along with _Suiton_ and _Doton_.

The last one was most certainly the Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama Senju. He was the only person recorded to have ever possessed the _Mokuton_. Naruto hadn't known, however that the man was a proficient medic. So great was his combat prowess it seemed to mostly overshadow his ability as a medic. Once he figured out that, it was easy to tell who the other three were: Tobirama Senju, Mito Senju, formerly Uzumaki, Sakumo had informed him in their discussion sparked by their crest, and Madara Uchiha.

He admired the battle plans for a few seconds longer before putting them to the side for a time when he could understand it better.

Looking to the book now, he mumbled out the title and author, " _Battle Tactics Volume II_ by Senju Tobirama."

This was a great discovery. This was probably the first copy of this book while he knew a copy had to be somewhere in Konoha, it was likely in a place he could not currently enter confidently. After all he had read all the books by the Nidaime that he could get and this was not one of them. This had to be one of his few higher level books and a continuation of the first volume that was more easily available. The Nidaime Hokage was a famed tactician - one of the best in history - and he had not contributed many advanced books to Konoha's archives. It was thought that he had mostly contributed minor books because he believed in learning through a teacher and experience. Plus it was known the man was quite a bit more paranoid than the average ninja. Naruto had always been a bit skeptical of the man being such a huge believer in a teacher and experience because the man was a scholar in all but name so he surely knew the value of books. To learn that this place had this book lying in the entrance made him giddy for just what could be further in the compound.

Though he did question its presence. Surely Tobirama was the one to come up with most of those battle plans. Volume two of his book couldn't be so far more advanced than its predecessor that the man would need it for reference. His eyes strayed to the wrinkled splotches of paper, thinking that perhaps the book was laid there more for nostalgic purposes than practical.

The two other books were written by Madara and Hashirama respectively. Madara's was focused on personal skills like one on one/many battles and seduction skills - resisting and using. Hashirama's was on some medical techniques that seemed to start with theory a bit above his level.

Deciding to look through these later, Naruto put the book down and decided to look into the corridors. Looking to the left showed a short corridor with three doors. Further investigating showed them to merely be mostly spartan bedrooms, each only containing a portrait of the four of them plus the one on the end held one of Mito and Hashirama in addition to essentials.

The other side held a set of stairs leading deeper underground. Traveling down the stairs, Naruto found himself in a fairly large library that held two short hallways into other rooms to his left and right. Quickly browsing the books, he found that there was indeed a wealth of knowledge here ranging from the three main shinobi arts of Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu to more obscure arts like Fuinjutsu to basic history, and even what looked to be some journals.

Deciding that looking through them further would distract him from his objective of exploring the compound, Naruto stopped his browsing and went towards the left hallway. The left room showed it to be a mid sized room with a multitude of weapons and basic ninja supplies. There was a great variety of weapons as well. Looking at them, he recognized multiple different sword styles and lengths. There was the traditional tanto, a katana, a nodachi, and even a few swords he didn't know by name. These swords were straight, contrasting the katana, and he knew them to be Western swords mostly from outside the Elemental Nations. Supposedly their manufacturing process was different, thus turning out straight swords.

In addition to the swords, there were some more obscure weapons such as the kusarigama, kama, and even a gumbai. There were also a pair of hook swords that were meant to be used in conjunction with each other. In addition to these, there were some weapons besides the common kunai and shuriken that could be used for long to mid range combat. These were the numerous chakram he saw along with the bow and the arrows that had seals engraved in them for multiple effects, though he couldn't tell exactly what they all did.

By this point, Naruto was having difficulty controlling both his excitement and disappointment in the fact that he would likely not have the time to go through all the information. To go through all of it and become proficient in most of these weapons would take at least a decade of dedicated study - something he couldn't accomplish. The only possible solution would be if he could get a clone jutsu that actually held intelligence.

Those, he knew, would be in short commodity. Clones were used as distractions. Functioning intelligence tended to be low on the list of priorities when creating it. Even if he could get his hands on a jutsu like that, someone in the village would eventually get suspicious. As much as he disliked Konoha, he could admit it housed some pretty intelligent people even if most of them were morons.

So while with more experience and knowledge he could probably create a clone jutsu that could feedback experience, it would be another few years before he would be able to even start on one. Though he supposed it was worth asking Sakumo about, with all his experience he would know if something like that existed. He would also have to come up with a cover story for why he wanted to know because he doubted Sakumo would approve of him trying to completely escape the village.

A cover story wouldn't be too hard to come up with either. He just had to say he was thinking about how to be effective in espionage with the smallest risk to the shinobi. That wouldn't sound too suspicious because that was the type of mentality that he had. If that wasn't enough, then he could always play the pity/annoyance card and say it was annoying having to spend time avoiding the villagers. If he tried to play the full pity card, Sakumo would see straight through him. After all, he had made it very clear that he hated being pitied.

Plan set, Naruto moved back to the library and walked to the opposite hallway to see what was that way.

What he saw shouldn't have surprised him, after all, he had a expected a large training room with all the plans that he had seen above, but this was just ridiculous.

In front of him was a gigantic training room lit by unseen seals with different types of terrain. There was a part with thick forestry, scattered ponds and a small lake, and just a plain rocky terrain with a lot of cover in the form of rocks. The training ground extended down from where he was about 200 yards and extended left and right 800 yards or so, the same being true for its length. There was no need for stairs with ninja, but seeing as this was just a training ground, it must mean that those four were underestimated in history books if that was possible. Or perhaps people just couldn't grasp a way to show just how strong they were on paper. It could be quite difficult to display that type of strength by the mere dry words of a history book.

This was still an impressive feat to be standing and in pristine condition. The forest was bountiful, the water clear, and the ceiling smooth. Seals had to be involved in the upkeep of this thing. There was no way the chakra remaining from so long after the Shodai died was keeping this up. The strength required just to reinforce that much for even a single minute was ludicrous.

Feeling inspired, Naruto decided it was time for his daily training session so he stuck his feet to the wall and ran to the floor. Upon reaching the bottom, Naruto started off with his standard exercise, a few hundred push-ups, sit-ups, handstand push-ups, and pull ups followed by 50 laps around what he designated as a large pond, about 400 yards in perimeter. After that some unfortunate trees suffered his fists and legs. Following this, he would swing his sword a few hundred times in multiple directions to perfect economic movement in his sword slashes.

Of course, this was all done with the resistance seal he always had on that he had convinced Sakumo to put on him. Resistance seals were designed make the user work more for any movement. There were different levels that predictably got harder as you got to higher levels. It started with what someone might feel when walking against some mild winds and progressed upwards from that to pretty much whatever difficulty your chakra could support. Currently, he was a bit above what felt like going through water.

He had asked for a gravity seal or weights as well, but Sakumo had adamantly refused, citing that doing so would hamper his growth. It would make him short and that tended to give you less room for building powerful muscles thus a lower ceiling for physical strength. He also didn't want to be short regardless, so he had concede the point.

Was Naruto a bit of a training masochist? Yes. Was he stupidly good for his age because of it? Also yes.

Finishing his workout after a few hours, though it seemed to fly by for Naruto, he decided to take a dip in the lake to cool off for a bit and relax before he moved on with his exercises. Stripping out of his clothes and putting them to the side, Naruto relaxed in the pleasantly chilly water.

While relaxing in the water, he got an idea. Most ninja were not good swimmers because they figured it was obsolete since they could walk on water. Naruto knew better than this both due to Sakumo and his imagination of different scenarios involving, among other things, Fuinjutsu and subtle escapes. What if for whatever reason you couldn't access your chakra while escaping and you had to cross a body of water? If you didn't know how to swim, either you're compromised and captured or dead.

So swimming was a very important skill to have. But in addition to being necessary, it could also teach economic use of air. Not only that, but swimming worked more muscles in the body than pretty much any single exercise that a person could do on land. With this in mind, Naruto decided to add swimming to his training regime to both increase his admittedly novice level of skill in swimming.

Of course he could easily over train himself and damage his body if he wasn't careful, so he would take breaks from his training occasionally to rest his muscles and let them knit themselves back together. This problem of over training was nearly completely overshadowed from his mild regeneration granted to him by his own personal demon. It was the one good thing he could reap the benefits of at this time from having it sealed inside him.

And while training as much as possible was appealing in the sense that he could guarantee his survival, it had too many detriments. For one, variety was the spice of life. Only training would make him apprehensive of it in the long run. Plus he liked to learn and research as much as he could and keep up to date with current events. Being ignorant as a shinobi showed both incompetence and short sightedness. Information in practically any job was necessary, but it was the bread and butter for any decent shinobi. Of course now ninja were more like a group of super powered mercenaries that could be hired for nearly anything. Many had also practically abandoned stealth and espionage in favor of flashy Ninjutsu. It's not that he couldn't see the appeal of Ninjutsu, he could, it was just that ninja needed to be more well rounded than just power houses.

Of course, he didn't care for being a ninja in the truest sense of the word because you couldn't get everything done in the shadows, especially against those who could predict those movements and were powerful enough to negate it. So no, he most certainly wasn't going to be solely a ninja in the correct context of the word, there were few, if any, these days regardless. He would conform to some of the current stereotypes without overlooking stealth.

Naruto decided to just do a few laps in the large pond for now to get a feel for it. After getting out, he walked to the trees and proceeded to climb them and tree hop without the aid of chakra. This was the same principle as knowing how to swim, knowing how to climb things without chakra would be beneficial in an environment with no access to chakra. After finishing this up and checking that he still had a few hours of daylight to burn before he had to be seen heading back to his apartment, Naruto ripped a branch off a tree on his way back to the library so he could practice nature transformation while he was reading.

Before taking any books, Naruto's mind drifted back to what Sakumo had said last night and decided to briefly meditate to check on his arms. He put all of his focus into sensing the flow of his chakra, pushing some through his arms to get an easier feel of his system. It took a solid 10 minutes of this type of intense focus to finally get a decent feel for it. He wasn't well versed in sensing his own chakra flow yet, but he could feel there was still a strain on his system and tenketsu because of the stunt he pulled. It didn't hurt, just felt a little sore. Exiting his concentration, he headed to the library.

Upon entering the library, Naruto decided to start with the journals to see if there was any information about this place. After glancing through the three men's journals with nothing terribly relevant, he moved onto the journal of the only woman of the group, Mito Senju, formerly Uzumaki. Looking at the name he took notice that oddly enough Mito used both names, Uzumaki being first. Clan pride, he thought.

For the first time he took note of her distinctly red hair. From his limited experience clans tended to have mostly the same hair colors, the Yamanaka's light blonde being the most prominent and odd genetic feature. Discovering her hair really convinced him he was an Uzumaki by blood as he had discovered a seal a few months ago that made his hair its uniform blonde instead of its true red-tipped blonde. The same shade of red as Mito's. He had been confused as to why such a seal was on him, but he had deemed it harmless and figured it was there for a reason so had reapplied it. Now he knew it was likely to keep the secret that he truly was of Uzumaki descent. Though he did question people's intelligence if the Hokage had just straight up named him Uzumaki and not questioned it. Perhaps the Hokage had given him the name with the intention to halt some of the negativity with the positive memory people had of the Uzumaki.

Unfortunately, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. His life was anything but a normal one the Hokage seemed to have desired he had. Losing his parents the day he was born had him put in an orphanage to be cared for to avoid suspicion. Suspicion may have been avoided, but in exchange, he had grown up with four years of neglect. Of course he had overcome this and become better for it, but it could very well have left him broken if he hadn't learned to read, along with the one woman who was moderately kind to him. She met an unfortunate end in -

No, he stopped himself from thinking further on that and returned to when he had been kicked out of the orphanage. He had to fend for himself on the streets. Eventually he had come across an old lady who needed help and would pay him, which eventually would lead him to The Boss due to her owing him money. The old woman had been a retired ninja, so she had taught him some things, mostly stealth, and built upon what he had picked up in the streets. He had also begun some more organized training at this time. It would eventually lead to him being a runner for The Boss. In time he would meet Sakumo and convince the retired man to train him, just after the Hokage realized he had been homeless and gave him his apartment in the Red Light District.

He didn't know what the old man was thinking with that decision, but it got a roof over his head and made his job easier. Even with these unfortunate experiences, he wouldn't change what he'd been through. It had shaped him into what he was today, showed him the reality of the world and how cruel humans were.

It may have been a somewhat jaded view, but he was no optimist. He viewed the world in a negative light because that was how he grew up. Anything good would come as a pleasant surprise. After all, few good things had ever happened to him not of his own hard work.

Pulling himself out of the past, Naruto took the journal to the table and started reading. It was interesting; detailing some adventures and missions that she had found herself doing, along with her experiences in Konoha and her feelings on certain people and clans.

It seemed that she had been put in an arranged marriage with Hashirama to cement the alliance between Konoha and the now destroyed Uzushiogakure. Not very surprising, political marriages were still common today, though more in the Daimyos' courts than shinobi. What was surprising was that it seemed that Mito was actually happy with Hashirama. It seemed that Konoha history was at least right in regards to Hashirama being kind. Mito also detailed how her husband was a bit of an airhead, occasionally naive, and an optimist at heart. He had assumed as much from how he had forged an alliance with the Uchiha who had been their greatest enemy at the time, only compounded when he learned that Hashirama had distributed the Bijuu as if they were candy to other nations with the thought that it would bring peace, or at least serve as a stepping stone to it.

Needless to say, he failed in that attempt.

Miserably.

Despite these flaws, it seemed Mito was quite fond of the legend she had married. It also looked like she had a certain fondness of Tobirama and enjoyed teasing the usually serious man. It also said that it was interesting to teach someone outside the clan Fuinjutsu and eventually discuss the theory behind it with him. It appeared that she had helped the younger of the Senju brothers to create what would become the Yondaime's signature technique, the _Hiraishin **,**_ that everyone credited his father for inventing.

She seemed to think Tobirama was harsh, but fair and an overall better leader than Hashirama even if he had more charisma and power than his younger brother by far. She also attested to the fact that Tobirama was a brilliant tactician and a fantastic sensor. This was all common knowledge, but high praise from someone like Mito, one of the best sensors of the time. Apparently Uzumaki had a knack for being sensors; he'd have to look into that more soon.

Coming to her thoughts on Madara, Mito had an interesting and different view on him than most.

When Mito had first met Madara, she was attracted to him to a degree and respected his strength, though she was wary of him for a reason she could not discern. Over time she became more wary of him and even described it like a fall to darkness or corruption. She herself didn't know exactly what happened, but she referred to some sort of ancient tablet that Madara had alluded to leading up to his betrayal. She believed that this was the cause of his fall. From what her journal said, it seemed that she didn't know much about this tablet other than a guess that it was still in the Uchiha district.

This intrigued Naruto a great deal because he wondered what this tablet said to persuade someone as formidable as Madara Uchiha to betray the village he helped to found. Therefore, Naruto resolved himself to figure out where this stone was and read it himself.

That was for the future, for as he read further he found something that caught his attention even more. It seemed that Mito had come down to this place long after the other three had died and continued her journal.

Looking at the time about 30 years prior, it said a young girl had come over from Uzushiogakure no Sato to hold the Kyuubi because Mito herself was becoming too old. He had not been aware of who the previous vessels for the Kyuubi were, but he had extrapolated there were some despite there being no mentions of it. He had come to this conclusion because history had referenced the Kyuubi being used in the final fight between Madara and Hashirama, but the Kyuubi seemed to have disappeared after that, only turning up in history again when it wrecked much of the village just under a decade ago.

That would also explain how Hashirama managed to beat Madara with such a disadvantage. There was no way two so close in strength as they were would have Hashirama come out on top with the Kyuubi bolstering Madara's strength. It seemed Mito was there with Hashirama during that fight and sealed the Fox inside herself.

That meant that this Kushina person was the second holder of the Kyuubi and also the most likely candidate for his mother as Mito had mentioned no other Uzumaki permanently living in Konoha. If he was right then that begged the question of how could the Kyuubi have escaped those eight years ago? Was it perhaps connected to her pregnancy with him? It was odd that he was born the same day it was released.

No, he denied, that couldn't be right because Mito had children and the Kyuubi wasn't set loose, which could only mean there was some sort of outside interference that caused it. If this was the case then a birth would be a great time for taking advantage of the situation. Kushina would have been exhausted, and from what he could tell she had been an excellent Kunoichi, one that would've been difficult to exhaust like childbirth would. It could also just be that Kushina's seal was weaker than Mito's. However that was doubtful as the seal had been done by Mito herself and Mito had hinted at the girl's ability to suppress chakra, even more effective on a Bijuu's toxic chakra.

Even with Kushina exhausted, the Yondaime was almost certainly there with her - husbands tended to do that - along with ANBU guarding a valuable resource like a Jinchuriki. The location was also probably kept secret so the assailant had to have been extremely skilled in espionage with a number of contacts. Baby Naruto, Naruto thought, also probably played the role of a hostage for that attacker. He would have been a good deterrent for the Yondaime because he had to have his special kunai in place to teleport. That bastard Yondaime Hokage had been skilled, as much as he hated to admit it, but he had to have a little prep time with his kunai to be at his most deadly.

That left him with the question of whether or not his attacker had been killed, and with the way his life tended to go he was leaning more towards the attacker being alive option. Besides it never hurt to be cautious. If the assailant had come for the Kyuubi once there was a good chance they would come again. He didn't want the Kyuubi released, that would kill him, so he needed to ramp up his training to make sure he could defend himself. After resolving to up the intensity of his training, Naruto returned his attention to the journal.

Reading about the destruction of Uzushio made his blood boil, but with it came a certain sense of satisfaction and pride with the fact that it had taken the combined might and coordination of three of the Great Nations to bring it down. It was an odd new feeling for him to feel a sense of pride on another's behalf. Perhaps it was because this was the first sense of family he had ever had and latched onto it. Regardless, this pride was quickly drowned out with a burning inferno of rage upon seeing Mito's suspicions of certain groups in Konoha having a part in the fall of Uzushio. Mito did not seem the type to make accusations like that unless she truly thought there was a decent chance that it was the truth.

From what he could see, there was one person in particular who she suspected fed the flames of war and supplied information given to Konoha to bypass many of Uzushio's admirable barriers.

Shimura Danzo, the Yami no Shinobi.

Besides being referred to as a teammate of the Sandaime there wasn't much else Naruto had heard of this guy. That implied he was good at staying out of the spotlight, a dangerous quality have. He immediately made a mental note to find out as much as he could about this Danzo character.

He would have his revenge for such a brilliant clan as the fallen Uzumaki. Though he wouldn't take it out on the innocent of Konoha like they had done to him. That would just make him into what he hated most - an illogical sheep. That was unacceptable. He may not hesitate to use others for his own gain, but he would not take vengeance on those not deserving of it.

Putting the journal down for now, he decided to start looking for some books to further his knowledge while he got some new leaves to practice his nature transformation on. When he lost his temper he had released quite a bit of chakra and shredded the leaves he had been practicing on. Naruto went back up to the entrance and picked up Tobirama's book on tactics and sat down for a nice read.

* * *

Naruto was in a slight panic.

He had lost track of time while reading and taking notes on the book he had found - he couldn't be blamed, the book was incredibly interesting and enlightening. That didn't detract from the fact that it was now night and he had to get to his house to not attract any more attention.

That alone wouldn't be too concerning. What was concerning was the fact that in his haste, he seemed to have picked up some tails that he couldn't just shake or kill because he probably couldn't and if he messed up at all it could bring suspicion unto him. Not only that, but he had just sensed a fourth tail that he hadn't initially noticed and he doubted he could escape from someone at that level. Maybe he would have had a chance if he'd been in the Red Light District as he knew that place better than almost anyone, and he doubted whoever was following him had been there much or at all. Shinobi tended to stay away from there apart from the few that thrived in the brothels, strip clubs, and bars. Most pretended it didn't exist to keep up the image of their own perfect little world and belief that Konoha didn't have any bad in it.

Regardless, he was in a bad position that would likely end in him being in a whole lot of hurt just because he couldn't afford to blow his cover. Glancing to the left as he walked he could make out another rustle of bushes. It seemed that they were making their move.

Three figures suddenly appeared in front of him. In addition to them, he could sense the stealthy one behind him. All three had black hair and sharingan eyes activated, two tomoe in one eye and one in the other of the three facing him.

Plastering a grin tinged with only the slightest amount of nervousness on his face, he asked in a tone befitting a lost and embarrassed child, "Hey there guys," now he reached up to scratch the back of his head in faked embarrassment, "Could you help me out? I was playing in the woods and got lost, I'd appreciate it if you could help me back to the village."

The one in the middle of the group adopted an arrogant smirk and spoke in a condescending tone, "So the little monster wants help, huh?" Here he paused, and then with a glare stated, "It's because of you that we're outcasts in this village now, so I think it's time we do our duty and get rid of you!"

He wasn't entirely sure on the story of why the Uchiha were put under more suspicion after the Kyuubi attacked, but he figured it was because previously an Uchiha - Madara - had exhibited the ability to control the Fox, so they naturally came under suspicion. Regardless, this one seemed to think he was at least partly the Fox, so he decided to designate this one as Idiot Number One. He could see the same malice in the eyes of the other two in front of him and mentally labeled them idiots number two and three respectively.

Acting the part of a scared and confused child, he emulated fear and laughed nervously, "What do you mean monster? I'm just a kid, how could I do anything to hurt you?" This seemed to make Idiots numbers one through three even more angry, but they were cut off from saying anything further by the dangerous one behind him.

"Enough petty words, we should just get this over with quickly before any patrols stumble upon us."

This one, Naruto thought was the most sensible. When trying to not get caught assassinating someone you shouldn't taunt them, it was stupid, a waste of time, and a good way to get caught. Still, he needed to keep his cover so he spun around and looked at the dangerous one with surprise and fear, and as expected, this one wore a mask like the three in front of him, but didn't have her sharingan active.

Apparently though, Idiot number one didn't find this satisfactory because he started to complain, "Come on, just let us hurt him a little before we end his miserable existence!"

It seemed the fool had enough sense not to call her by name. The woman, he noted, had a bit of resentment in her eyes for him as well; however, he could tell that she directed her hate more at the actual Fox and he just happened to be supervising these three buffoons. She didn't care for him, but she wasn't outright hostile like the other three.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the woman didn't have any empathy for him at all, thought hurting him may hurt the fox, or she merely wanted to shut the three idiots up because she gave her consent to roughing him up. Pushing out a brief cry in hopes someone who didn't disdain him outright might hear him, the dangerous one quickly closed on him, cutting his cry short by gagging and binding him to a tree with his hands above his head. After this, the woman stepped aside and let the other three step up. It seemed she didn't want to dirty her hands herself.

That thought was quickly squashed in favor of submerging himself in other thoughts to avoid focusing on the inevitable pain. It was a common tactic among shinobi and one he had picked up from previous training Sakumo had reluctantly given him. He also had a decent pain tolerance so he didn't have too much trouble the first couple minutes, he idly noticed they were only cutting him up he idly noticed.

Regrettably they decided he wasn't struggling or screaming enough and upgraded their torture session. Keeping his mind out of the moment became significantly more difficult, so he split his focus between potential escape routes if they went too far and mentally reciting everything he had taken note of in the he had found. They had now crudely begun running fire chakra through kunai and started taking turns pressing it against his skin to sear it or cut him only to have the wound immediately cauterize.

He could no longer be silent and started letting out muffled grunts through the gag. One of them revealed a lightning affinity as he made his hand alight with some electricity pressed it to his stomach. He promptly let out a muffled scream as electricity coursed through his body, his limbs and body starting to spasm.

One of them decided that he no longer needed his right eye, something precious to an Uchiha, and slashed from the top of his forehead to the bottom of his chin, just crossing over the edge of his mouth. It cut straight through his eye and right down to the bone. This also had the added effect of cutting through the gag and he screamed loud enough to shake the leaves of the tree he was tied to even as the metallic tang of his own blood dripped into his mouth and air suddenly had a small new opening to enter his mouth.

The one who did it quickly jammed his mouth shut, taking a small piece of tongue with it. He then proceeded to slash an x mark below his mouth before tearing off the remnants of his shirt and engraving something on the right side of his chest.

He dimly heard the sharp reprimand of the woman and guessed it was a command to finally kill him. Even with so much pain and a now missing eye, Naruto had the clarity of mind to really start preparing his escape. He would need to time it at the last moment to get the best chance of survival, blowing his cover be damned. Just as he was about to escape his bindings, he caught a glint of metal flying towards the woman and the one about to carve his heart out.

Seeing as he would now be safe or at least alive, he abandoned his plan of escape and drifted into a state between conscious and unconscious just to make sure he could escape if he needed to. The last thing he saw before going into that state was, surprisingly enough, a pair of sharingan eyes with three tomoe in one eye and two in the other attached to a male teenage body.

* * *

Itachi Uchiha was having a good day as far as he was concerned.

First he learned that he had the day off from ANBU because of the first mission he had taken last week. He had gotten into ANBU at a record young age, the only other coming close being Kakashi Hatake. His father had been extremely proud though like always he barely showed it and merely gave his typical, "As expected of my son." only tacking on the irregular congratulations.

While he appreciated the gesture, the statement suggest an underlying arrogance his father was undeserving of. The man was certainly powerful and skilled, but his skills had deteriorated from his peak and was now not even the best in the clan. It was quite foolish to have such arrogance. His mother had taught him to be humble and not neglect training senses other than his sharingan as so many of his clan fell prey to. He had not made incredible progress with enhanced senses yet, however he was still far ahead of most in the clan and above the average shinobi's level.

He rid himself of these thoughts to enjoy his remaining time in the peaceful woods of Konoha during this young night. The chirping of crickets filled the air and the air cooled further as the moon worked its way further into the sky. It was enjoyable to come into the woods and enjoy this peace where clan politics, pressures of the village, and clan no longer mattered. It reminded him of the time he spent with his dear otouto today. Sasuke was still a child who knew not of the pressures and horror of the world. Still innocent. Unfortunately it seemed that Tou-san had started to influence Sasuke in some negative ways. Sasuke had started to develop an entitled attitude based around clan pride. Hopefully he and Kaa-san could curb that attitude before it truly took root like it had in many of the others, Uchiha or otherwise.

His morbid thoughts were cut off by what he could hear as a muffled struggle. Quickly listening for its direction, Itachi silently ran towards the scene. What he came upon both shocked and horrified him. Looking down from the tree he was perched in, he saw four Uchiha torturing a young boy no older than Sasuke.

From where he was he couldn't distinguish the boy's features because his face was covered in blood, but what he did know was that he had to stop it. Activating his sharingan and taking out a kunai in each hand, he threw both to incapacitate the one standing a bit away from the group and the one about to deliver the finishing blow.

Hopping down from the branch, he quickly incapacitated the other two who were barely able to put up a fight, not being able to gain their bearings quickly enough. If this had been a straight up fight or they had been more alert, this never would have worked. As it was, all four were swiftly taken down and he signaled for an ANBU team to pick get them to T&I department by way of chakra flare.

Seeing that the boy needed medical attention immediately, Itachi grabbed him as carefully as he could and body flickered to the hospital as fast as he could without further injuring the boy.

When he arrived at the hospital, he burst through the doors and demanded a doctor to treat the boy. Oddly, Itachi noticed that once some of the doctors got close enough, they just turned away. His sharp eyes also caught that these were all civilian doctors. Seeing this he withheld his confusion and snarl of anger, instead running to get a shinobi medic in the emergency department typically reserved for shinobi coming back from missions.

Once he arrived at the department, he didn't even have to say anything as the bloody boy was swiftly taken out of his hands and put on a stretcher. As soon as they started rolling him down into one of the treatment rooms, Itachi immediately started to follow, but was stopped by a hand grabbing his arm.

Turning to look back at the medic who stopped him, his eyes sought an explanation. He quickly got one from the slightly unnerved medic staring into the sharingan eyes he hadn't realized were still active. The medic withheld his stutter though and answered the unasked question, "You can't go in with a patient as you might distract the medics from doing their job."

Itachi nearly snarled remembering the treatment the boy had received when he entered the hospital and barely held his impassive visage, though rage shone in his eyes as he replied, "Well I'm unsure as to whether the boy is safer in their hands or not as the reception he received upon my entrance into the hospital was less than reassuring." Ripping his arm away from the shocked medic, the prodigy stormed down the hallway to where he had seen the boy taken and walked through the door to monitor the boy himself.

The medics in the room seemed utterly shocked to see him stroll in unopposed, but one look at his face that dared them to try to make him leave quickly go them back on task to healing the boy. No one else dared to try to make him leave.

Itachi was finally able to get a clear look at the boy when the medics cleaned his face of blood and what he saw made his heart sink along with a flood of understanding of the situation. The face of the boy was that of Naruto Uzumaki. Everyone in the village knew who he was, if not by name, then by reputation. Itachi himself knew better than most who this was. He knew just like everyone else that was old enough to remember that he was the container of the Kyuubi, but unlike most his age, Itachi respected the boy because he was able to live on and put up a smiling visage even faced with the disdain of the village.

Itachi hadn't seen the boy himself much, but he did know that most of the Uchiha were not a fan of him based on the fact that they used Naruto as the symbol for their fall from grace in the political field and reputation. If they didn't blame Naruto himself, then they hated what he contained and directed their hate at the easiest target.

The young prodigy also knew that the smile the boy put on was fake. How could he not when he himself wore a mask nearly all the time as well? It was an impressive mask as well, Itachi hadn't been able to see exactly what hid behind that mask, but he assumed it was dominated by a great deal of pain and loneliness.

In addition to this, he had a hunch as to who the boys mother and father were. He was astonished at how many people seemed to overlook Naruto's similarities to the Yondaime Hokage, though he supposed hate blinded people and they came up with their own explanations or ignored it. Naruto's mother, though he could understand more people not knowing even if it was odd none ever even hinted at her, but he suspected his own dear mother and the Hokage knew. His mother was kind and would've taken him in considering the blonde's mother was her best friend, but above that the Uchiha matriarch was intelligent. There were a number of reasons she couldn't merely take the boy in.

The boy's mother, Uzumaki Kushina, was a difficult person to forget, and young Itachi had met his mothers best friend a few times before her death. Itachi had also caught a glimpse of how she looked heavily pregnant just before the Kyuubi attacked. Now that he was older, he recognized that she must have used some sort of Genjutsu to keep the fact that she was pregnant a secret for most of her terms.

Regardless, seeing how bad Naruto seemed to have it and how his own clan treated the boy, Itachi resolved to help the boy however he could, even if it was only in minor ways.

Seeing the medics start to clean up Itachi glanced at Naruto, now covered in bandages, and asked the medics how he was doing.

The head medic answered in what seemed to be far too familiar of a way than to be comforting with, "The patient has multiple bone deep cuts, a hole in his cheek we have stitched back up, a small piece of tongue missing, and some minor bruising done to his liver. In addition, he also has some burn marks that seem to have been made with fire infused kunai," the medic stopped there and glanced at Itachi a bit warily before continuing, "He also has some minor damage to his nervous system, he will probably have some spasms for a short amount of time before returning to normal."

Here Itachi cut the medic off with some confusion coloring his voice as he asked, "I thought that damage to the nervous system was not so easily healed? You speak as if you know he will heal quickly."

The medic fidgeted slightly under his gaze, seeming to debate whether or not he was allowed to tell Itachi something. Luckily for the medic, the Hokage chose that moment to walk in and he glanced at Itachi in surprise at finding him here. Seeing the Hokage, the medic relayed Itachi's question, asking permission to continue with an explanation.

After hearing this, the Hokage turned to look Itachi straight in his pitch black eyes, no longer the blazing red of the sharingan. Itachi met his intense gaze evenly. He knew the Hokage was searching his eyes for something. He wouldn't disappoint.

Finally after a tense few seconds, the Hokage sighed and motioned for the medic to explain the situation. So with a deep breath, the medic started his explanation, "This is not the first time this has happened to Naruto, it very rarely and only one other time that could match this, but we do know that he has an incredible healing factor. We know that in a few days he should be up and walking, and in a few more his nervous system will likely be as good as new." The medic paused to take a breath before continuing, "We can only assume this incredible healing factor is due to the Fox that is sealed inside of him," the medic paused again to gauge Itachi's reaction and when he didn't see any disdain, he continued, "That is why we aren't worried too much despite it being tragic that he has to suffer through this at all. What we are worried about is the fact that he lost one of his eyes. We don't know the full extent of his ability to heal and we don't hope to test it, but we do know that it is able to heal damaged organs. Unfortunately, his eye is completely gone, so he might have to live the rest of his life with one eye or get a transplant, and that could be trouble to get any approval because of who he is."

The medic finished and again looked at Itachi as if to try to see what he was thinking, but Itachi had put on his blank mask, so it was nearly impossible to read him.

Itachi felt partially responsible for Naruto's loss of an eye because his clan members had been the perpetrators. He also felt like he should give Naruto a silver lining in his hardship filled life, so with this in mind, Itachi thought about ways he could help young Naruto.

Looking at Naruto's face and seeing the slash mark down his face reminded him of another man who had a similar scar that had taken his eye, Kakashi Hatake. The man was famous for being a superb ninja and the only person who was not an Uchiha to have the sharingan. Details on how it happened were sketchy, but what was agreed upon was that it had been a willingly transplanted eye. Thinking of this and how those other Uchiha that had tortured Naruto gave him an idea of how to help Naruto.

Turning to the Sandaime, Itachi voiced his suggestion, "Hokage-sama, what if we were to take an eye of one of the culprits and transplant it into Naruto. I could occasionally instruct him on how to wield it and it could be covered by a cloth when in public so no one would find out. I believe if we tell Naruto to keep it a secret, he will be able to do so. It can also compensation for what he suffered at the hands of my clan."

Looking at the Hokage, Itachi could see how surprised he was by the suggestion, and how after hearing it he considered it for a few moments before speaking, "Itachi-kun, it is a nice gesture and I suppose good compensation for the attack, but could you find time in your schedule to help him? And even if you could, how do you know Naruto-kun will be able to keep it a secret? You have seen how loud he can be." The Hokage now looked at him with an almost challenging glint in his eyes.

Nevertheless, Itachi answered, "Sir, I believe I will be able to spare a few hours of instruction occasionally, and I believe Naruto can keep a secret with how some ninja don't notice anything off about his behavior prior to a prank. In addition to this, I could place a Genjutsu on it to hide its existence in case the covering falls off." Itachi now observed the Hokage and thought he caught a glint of approval before he gave his response, but it was gone so quick, Itachi was unsure of if it was there to begin with.

When the old man replied, it was with a musing tone, "Well, it would be quite troublesome to clear it with your clan at all, are you willing to go behind their back and do this Itachi-kun?"

Itachi replied without hesitation, "It is the right thing to do and Naruto has a harsh enough life without a disability hindering him."

With that, plans were laid out as to how it would be carried out and all involved sworn to secrecy. All that was left was to wait for Naruto to awaken.

* * *

" _The road to hell is paved with good intentions." - Proverb_

* * *

Wooh, that took a long time to edit. I forgot how awful I was when I first started writing. Hopefully the next chapter will be out soon. And also a **note for any big Naruto sharingan haters: I don't plan on him relying on it much and he will eventually lose/get rid of it**. I don't plan for it to become a major part of his fighting style or have much of the story focused on it. There are enough stories out there already that basically turn Naruto into an Uchiha. Also thoughts on my portrayal of Itachi? Finally, I hope you all have a great day and hope the next chapter comes out sooner.


	3. Chapter 3

**Itachi and ANBU**

Naruto had been in his semi-conscious state for just over an hour now and while he couldn't decipher much about what had happened, he knew a few basic things.

One, his 'savior' had rushed him to the hospital.

Two, he had been given suitable treatment, so the person had found a decent medic.

And three, someone powerful, likely the Hokage was in the room with him.

Now this wasn't an unusual occurrence. The few times he had been put in the hospital, the Hokage had been there to greet him when he awoke. The odd part was that for some reason, his 'savior' had also not left. Usually the person who would bring him here - all ANBU - would leave immediately after dropping him off at the hospital. They weren't biased against him, those types just tended to stay in the shadows by nature of their position. This time that difference, the change in routine made him a tad uneasy. This was an unknown variable.

Naruto did not like unknown variables; however, he decided he would deal with it later. His life was no longer in danger and he wanted some actual rest, so Naruto finally allowed himself to fall asleep.

When Naruto woke up he kept himself still, as Sakumo had taught him, with his eyes closed and checked his surroundings as best he could. He could sense a somewhat powerful presence in his room and one just short of projecting killing intent outside his door; ANBU he thought.

He tracked the sloppily concealed movement of the ANBU to the door and them informing the other, no doubt to contact the old Hokage. 'Letting up on stealth just because he thinks there is no danger in the room, what a fool,' Naruto thought somewhat condescendingly and childishly.

In his opinion, one should keep vigilant at all times despite what may seem like an unassuming and innocent responsibility. He may lower his guard occasionally but only when he was exhausted. Even then, he kept a some awareness even when asleep.

Getting up to look around the room with confusion on his face to keep up the act, he took in every detail of the room searching for anything that could signify who had 'saved' him. Disappointingly, there was nothing other than a medical report beside his bed. Annoyed that he didn't find anything and a tad more jumpy than usual due to the abnormal circumstances of this hospital visit, Naruto calmed his nerves by thinking of how to improve the torture techniques used on him, though he kept his thoughts off his face despite the sadistic smile threatening to take hold.

Naruto had a number of screws loose. And ones that had never been inserted to begin with. His thoughts on targeting key points of nerves with lightning infused senbon to concentrate pain while minimizing visible damage were cut off by the door opening.

Turning his head to look at who entered in addition to the old man, he saw a young Uchiha in his teens with an apathetic look on his face. Naruto connecting the dots realized this was the one who had 'saved' him. There was also a faint sense of familiarity that he got from the boy, as if he had seen the teen in more than just a passing on the street.

He was cut off from his internal musings by the old Hokage greeting him with a gentle smile, "Good morning Naruto-chan. How are you feeling?"

Suppressing an eyebrow twitch from being called 'chan', he answered as he usually would with a shaky smile, "I'm feeling a little sore Jiji, but other than that I feel alright." He a glance at the Uchiha, making a show of looking at where he was briefly, he put some nervousness in his voice as he asked, "Ah, who is this Jiji? And why am I here?"

As expected, the old Hokage seemed to show his true age as his lips turned down in a frown and spoke, "Naruto, what is the last thing you remember?"

As usual the man asked the same question he always did when he woke like this. Still, he figured the old man would give him answers after he obliged his question, so he spoke, "Well I was going back to my apartment after playing in the woods and I lost track of time, so it was pretty dark when I was going back. Then, I remember some bushes rustling and then," here he put on a face that appeared to be half pained and half struggling to remember before continuing, "I - I remember being in a lot of pain and red eyes," he paused again and decided to ask about his lack of vision in one eye to make his faulty memory seem more realistic and so laced his voice with fear, "Jiji, why is my eye covered in bandages?"

Throughout the whole explanation, the old Hokage sagged more while the boy behind him kept his face mostly impassive. That didn't stop Naruto from being able to glimpse something negative not aimed at him from his experience in needing to read certain facial expressions to avoid certain people. Filing it away for later, he refocused on the old man as he spoke once more, "Well Naruto-chan, those people with the red eyes who were hurting you unfortunately took your eye. Fortunately, we may be able to fix it."

Discarding his annoyance at waiting so long as to let himself lose an eye, he voiced his confusion on how he would be able to fix it, "What do you mean fix it? I thought people couldn't regrow an eye even with awesome ninja tricks. Also who is that and why is he here?" He may have sounded a bit too accusing with that last question, but he could play it off as wariness after a traumatic event if need be.

Answering with a bit of a smile, the old man answered as he gestured to the Uchiha behind him, "Ahh, well this is the one who saved you from those who were hurting you, Uchiha Itachi."

Naruto's mind froze momentarily before speeding up. He hadn't heard a lot about the Uchiha as he had been more focused on learning theory and practical skills. What history he did learn was more general things everyone knew or he focused on past legends: how they came to be, what their strengths were, etc. However, he had recently started casting cursory looks at up and coming shinobi. Itachi was the most talked about up and coming prodigy of Konoha.

Itachi was the rising star of the Uchiha and the one who was helping bring the Uchiha back into favor across the village. As far as he knew, Itachi was officially a Chunin, but from what he had heard and seen, it was more likely that his skills were more near Jonin level. He apparently paid more attention to Genjutsu than most of the Uchiha today, though he was still no slouch in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. He would surely become one of the most dangerous men in the world if he continued his growth.

He decided to answer quickly after he heard that so as to not seem suspicious with a quick and shaky thanks, but judging by the ever so slight narrow of the prodigy's eyes, he had thought something odd about his slight pause. He resolved to fix any cracks in his mask he may let slip when not completely alert even as he noted the Uchiha was more observant and paranoid than even some of the older ninja.

His eyes slid back to the Hokage as he went to explain why he was here and he noticed the change in the way that he was addressed, "You see Naruto, Itachi here suggested that we 'fix' your eye by putting a new one in, something that I thought might cause some problems for you if some people found out just what type of eye we would give you."

Naruto's sharp mind near instantaneously figured out what he meant and he barely contained his surprise, but to keep up the pretense of an ignorant boy he asked, "What do you mean the type of eye you would give me? And where would you get this eye?"

Continuing his explanation, the Hokage spoke seriously, "Naruto you have to promise you won't tell anyone of this before I tell you more, ok?" Receiving a nod, the old man continued, "Well Itachi-kun suggested that we give you the sharingan from one of the people that hurt you. The sharingan is a special type of eye that allows you to see things better. Itachi-kun has volunteered to train you in how to use it when he has time, so what do you say?"

Naruto didn't answer for some time, seemingly struggling with something. The Hokage assumed it was digesting the information that he was given and the fact that part of his attackers would be with him. Itachi merely kept his eyes on the odd boy. Something about him just touched at his senses that normal civilian children didn't register as.

The Hokage's assumption was incorrect. What truly made him pause was a debate within himself as to whether he should accept or not. Usually he wouldn't hesitate to gain another tool to use. The sharingan was exactly that, a tool, no matter how useful, but there were a few things that made this situation different.

First of all, what he could receive would undoubtedly be a boon with time and training, but it would screw with his vision _a lot._ It could likely be overcome with training though he doubted the difference between his normal eye and the sharingan would ever be completely erased if he kept it. Any pros of the eye could potentially be cancelled out if he had to close an eye to utilize it or the difference in sight screwed with his timing of a counter.

Secondly, the sharingan was powerful and jealously guarded. If it got out that he had the sharingan, his life would become significantly more difficult and he may well have to flee the village. While he held no love for this village, it did hold a wealth of information and provided protection from other sources. He was also confident that he could keep this a secret, so that wasn't what registered as a great threat to him.

The final and main argument as to why he hesitated lay not entirely in logic but in Naruto's personality and views. Naruto was very prideful in the fact that despite having no bloodline - an active one at least, the Uzumaki were theorized to have one or more passive ones - he was still leagues ahead of anyone his age who was part of a Clan and had great resources. The only exception in Konoha that he knew about that was around his age and could most likely soundly defeat him was Uchiha Itachi. Of course he would have to find more information on the Uzumaki before concluding that he actually had no bloodline for half of his view on that pride. Regardless, the point stood that he was proud of the skills he had worked for without the advantage of clan resources or bloodline. In addition to this, he _despised_ the Uchiha as a general rule, even if he recognized some of it was illogical. He didn't just automatically hate them all, but all the ones he had met he had deemed assholes. Plus their members had just taken his eye. Naruto was quite capable of holding a grudge. This in turn led to some apprehension to use what they were so well known for.

In spite of of his somewhat unnatural hate, the counterpoint of this was that he thrived on getting new things to play and experiment with. This included learning just as well as getting new and rare stuff. His love of new things may have come from the fact that he had started from nothing and so took any opportunity to get new things in the form of objects and knowledge. Of course a remnant from his days of having nothing left him with a sense of thriftiness and caution when around fragile or valuable things.

Naruto also realized the eye would be a great advantage and tool, and he was a practical person. He wouldn't throw away a chance to gain something with only a few potential drawbacks without a truly good reason. A reason better than it just going against what he felt.

As such the conflict of whether to accept or not lay in a war between his pride and hate agaist greed and practicality.

In the end, the winning argument between the two factions in his head told him to take it. He had lost his eye partly because of his pride in the first place. He had resolved to temper it just last night, this was a good way to prove it to himself. Besides, when he was strong enough, he'd be able to stick it to those Uchiha bastards that he could use the sharingan better than them.

Make no mistake, he would train with it until it was better than most, if not all Uchiha.

So it was more of a compromise between the two than one side outright winning over the other.

With this in mind, he decided to play the innocent kid card and say, "Well if I really can have this cool eye, then ok, but what about the one that it is taken from?"

The Hokage smiled a bit, probably thinking that the boy actually cared about the lives of the Uchiha, and spoke, "Don't worry about that Naruto-chan, they're going to be punished, and one eye won't be much of a problem."

Playing the part of the innocent child perfectly, Naruto merely nodded his head in the affirmative, not even questioning it.

With that the Hokage stood up and looked to Naruto and spoke once final time before leaving the room, "I will come see you later Naruto-chan, but for now you should rest before we get the eye to give you. Itachi-kun here will stay for a bit because he wants to get to know a little about you. Don't worry, he is a very nice young man." With that the old man left, closing the door gently behind him after seeing Naruto nod his head to his words.

After the old man left, Naruto turned his innocent yet slightly guarded gaze to Itachi and stared into his expressionless face. Itachi quickly broke this with a slight upturn of his lips, though it seemed that he didn't smile often from how it didn't fit his face.

Regardless, it broke the tension and Naruto saw that Itachi was waiting for him to open the conversation. The blonde obliged him, "Hi Itachi, thank you for saving me. What did the old man mean when he said you wanted to know about me?"

Itachi idly noticed how Naruto neglected to tack on 'san' to his and how he called the Hokage 'old man'. It seemed that no one had seen fit to teach him proper etiquette or the boy didn't care for it. It was probably a bit of both, but he answered nonetheless as it was refreshing to be addressed so casually, "Well Naruto-kun, since I will be teaching you from time to time I thought it would be nice to get to know each other a little better. What do you say?"

Smiling shakily, Naruto responded, "I'm fine with that Itachi, what do you want to know?"

Inwardly Naruto was curious as to what he could find out about the prodigy, it wasn't everyday he got to talk to shinobi, talented shinobi especially (aside from Sakumo but he didn't count since he was no longer active).

Itachi started, his smile becoming a little less strained, "Well I can introduce myself and you can follow my lead. I like Konoha, my otouto, and pocky." Naruto thought he saw some insane glint in Itachi's eyes as he said pocky, but it was gone before he could tell and he continued, "I dislike war, politics, and unjust discrimination."

Itachi paused briefly here as if thinking of what he wanted to say next before continuing, "A hobby I have is learning about the Elemental Nation's history, and a dream I have is for the world to be a more peaceful place." He ended with more passion in his voice than the barely positive tone he had held before.

Naruto merely nodded his head in response and fished for more with a question about his introduction, "Ah, Itachi, what do you mean you dislike war? Also what do you mean by a more peaceful world?"

Itachi, seeing a chance to impart some wisdom on the boy, answered in a censored version, "I dislike war because it costs many things, friends being one of them, and they are a precious commodity, as is life. As for a peaceful world, I mean that the world as it is now is in constant conflict. I wish for a world where we don't have to look over our shoulders constantly."

Naruto nodded again, but inwardly filed the answers away for later contemplation, they were odd and lofty ideas. These were similar to some things Sakumo would say, but the older man would always say it in more obscure ways. It seemed not all of Konoha's youth were morons, though Itachi was most definitely an exception.

Following his lead, Naruto started his own introduction with a smile, "I like playing pranks, training to be a ninja, and Konoha," here Naruto inwardly grimaced at having to say that, but continued, "I dislike bullies, people who can't take a joke, and people who don't answer my questions. Some hobbies I have are exploring and gardening. My dream is, uhh… well I don't really have a dream except to become stronger?" he finished in an unsure tone.

All of what he had said was calculated and mostly the truth. Saying that he liked Konoha would throw a lot of concern about him running off. The training part might influence Itachi into teaching him seriously. While Sakumo was an excellent teacher, he didn't have all the answers or didn't deem certain topics as important as others. The pranks bit was merely thrown in to add innocence and fit the persona he had created.

Saying he disliked bullies would also fit to what had happened to him in the village, and the people not being able to take a joke would also fit with his persona. The part about people not answering questions would give Itachi a test of sorts and for his benefit of showing that he was curious. If he asked something, then Itachi may be more inclined to answer. If he asked a sensitive question, then the answer he got would show how much faith Itachi had in him. Or how much Itachi was willing to reveal to gain his trust.

His hobbies would give him an excuse for his absence if the need ever arose, and his dream was the complete truth. He didn't really have a goal to work towards, it having not occurred or mattered to him too much aside from getting stronger. He had little else to dream for after the life he had lead. He was a realist and had never been truly exposed to anything to reach towards except advancing in military rank. That was something he knew he did not want, not in Konoha especially, barring doing so because it might help him towards escaping his fate as purely a weapon.

Itachi, for his part, took all this in and saw it matched up with what he could tell about the boy from what he had heard and experienced. It was interesting to learn that he was curious, perhaps he could show him some history? It also seemed that the boy was at least interested in becoming a shinobi, even started training already, though it was unlikely anything truly serious or efficient without a teacher. As far as he could tell no one taught the boy. Who would want to teach the village pariah?

Despite all this, Itachi couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was off about the introduction. He couldn't put his finger on what though. Deciding that he was being too paranoid, he decided to push the feeling to the back of his mind for now and respond to Naruto, "That is interesting Naruto. But you truly don't have a goal? Not even a general idea of what to aim for?"

Naruto frowned ever so slightly before pulling his mouth back into a small smile and answered, "Well I've never really thought about it much besides wanting to be strong enough to protect myself. Is that not a good goal?"

Itachi was inwardly incensed that the blonde even had to think of defending himself in his own village, but he suppressed it in favor of answering, "Well for short term, perhaps, but not as an overall life goal. Maybe you could expand on it by getting stronger _for_ something rather than getting strong just to be strong or just to protect yourself. Maybe to protect someone close to you?"

Perhaps he was hoping too much for an eight year old to try to understand this, but he figured it was better to at least plant the seed for him to think about.

Naruto, for his part, was caught in a moment of retrospection. To become strong to protect someone? Naruto didn't really have anyone he wished to protect. There weren't many people he actually liked. In fact, he could count them on one hand.

Those four - five if he counted Itachi as he seemed interesting - were Sakumo, the Hokage, and the father-daughter duo who ran the Ichiraku ramen stand - Ayame and Teuchi. Itachi was mostly considered on the list because he didn't seem like most morons in his age group.

Of those five, three of them didn't or wouldn't need protecting for some time. Sakumo was a legend and still one of the best. The Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was also a legend, and though getting on in age, he was still very strong. Itachi himself wouldn't need protecting as Naruto wasn't strong enough yet and Itachi would only get stronger, likely to become one of the best in the world. By the time they needed protecting or were in a situation where they needed it and he could provide it, he planned to be gone from Konoha, so it was even less likely he would run into that type of situation.

As for Ayame and Teuchi, well they weren't really targets people would have. They were merely small ramen stand owners. The only ones who might target them were especially bitter civilians. Even then, it was unlikely they'd be truly hurt, or the aggressors would be stopped before it got to irreparable damage. Even as he was now, he was plenty strong to protect them from any civilian.

Perhaps when he left such a thing would be important, but for now he didn't think on it much.

Naruto, looking to Itachi for some clarification and ideas, asked, "I don't really have anyone who would need protecting. What else would you say I could protect?"

Itachi was upset to hear that it didn't seem like Naruto had many people he cared about, but at least he could infer that he did have some. Itachi then answered the question, "Well you could protect an ideal you have or something important to you, like a memento that means a lot to you or an artifact. As for people not needing your protection, you might think that now, but you never know what might happen. Even someone like the Hokage needs help occasionally."

The blonde supposed that was true. He may be able to predict what would happen to a certain extent, but he couldn't account for every detail, let alone unknown variables. So perhaps he could find some drive to get stronger to potentially protect them. Anything to give him drive to improve he welcomed.

As Itachi saw Naruto process his words, he decided he had spent enough time conversing with Naruto for now and given the boy a lot to think about, so he slowly got up from the chair he had settled himself in. Seeing the questioning look the blonde sent his way, Itachi answered the unasked question, "I think we can learn more about each other in future training sessions. When I have time I will come get you. See you later Naruto-kun."

As the door closed Itachi left Naruto to his thoughts.

Itachi was indeed an interesting individual. A shinobi that hated war and wished for peace? It was almost laughable, but it was a 'good' ideal to have despite it being a naive ideal in Naruto's opinion. Perhaps if he had those he truly wished to protect then he may strive for it, but as it stood, he had no reason to seek an impossible goal.

He had also noticed how the Uchiha had stated he liked Konoha and his otouto, but not his clan. Perhaps he saw how the Uchiha were in the wrong in some places? That would be remarkable, he could only think of one Uchiha similar to that. He couldn't recall the name, but he knew the man had been a student of the Nidaime.

The prodigy had also mentioned his dislike of politics, perhaps referring to the pressure put on him by his clan and the village. He likely also knew intimately of the deceit and loopholes in politics, something the general public tended to only complain marginally about, only able to comment from a distance without true experience. He could relate. He himself had started to learn about politics and how he was affected by it. He had just started and he already disliked a number of parts about it. Of course he could also respect the planning and charisma of great politicians as well as its necessity. If he wasn't a Jinchuriki he might have even liked the floor of politics for the different type of battlefield it presented. As it was he could be viewed as little more than a weapon in this village. The political floor seemed more a battlefield fit for true ninja than what they had become today.

In addition, there were many morons on the civilian side of the council. They may be decently crafty, but they were nearly all bigoted and biased towards civilian wants. This was supposed to be a _military village,_ civilians should have known the norm would not apply to them here. They well and truly pissed him off.

There was only a single shop that offered any nail and hair care? Spend money to incentivise professionals in the field to set up shop! It was ridiculous.

Discarding politics, Itachi had also mentioned how he disliked unjust discrimination. He had probably done it to try to gain a little of his trust. Not a bad tactic, it would easily work on a lot of people in a situation similar to his. It earned Itachi some points in his books, though not for the reasons Itachi had intended. On the contrary, it only made him more wary of the teen and gained him some more points in respect.

The teen had also brought up that he liked to study the continent's history, not just Konoha's. This implied that he learned from it as well, learning not to trust everything Konoha fed the populace. This was probably a contributing factor to Itachi not being arrogant despite his abilities. He had seen what happened to people who grew too arrogant in his studies and modeled himself to be humble, yet confident.

While Naruto could process all this and infer some meaning behind it, the two things that truly stuck with him were Itachi's ironic dream of peace and what the Uchiha had said in response to him not really having a dream.

"Find something to protect to get stronger, huh? Interesting philosophy."

* * *

As Itachi walked out of Naruto's room, he thought of his conversation with the blonde. After talking to the boy, he was more sure than ever that he put up a mask, an impressive one at that. He almost couldn't tell it was there.

He only managed to glimpse some of what was underneath, and even then he had probably only managed that because of the Hokage's presence. It seemed that after such an experience Naruto couldn't keep up his mask quite as well as usual in addition to him being vouched for by the Hokage.

Still, what he had been able to piece together was both heart warming and saddening. The boy didn't seem to bear any great or at least surface level hate for Konoha, but that may change with continued mistreatment. He would have to try to stunt that somehow.

In addition, it seemed Naruto was a very curious boy with a drive to sate it. A dangerous combination if nurtured correctly. Perhaps he could even persuade Naruto to think that peace was something to strive for in spite of its improbability; to do that he may have to expose him to the brutal side of the shinobi life. Of course he had no doubt that the blonde could face it and come out better for it since he seemed to live in constant struggle anyway.

He could also quench that the boy's curiosity with a number of topics. It presented a good chance to teach him important lessons. Idly noticing that he was nearing the Uchiha district on the outskirts of the village, Itachi started to prepare himself for dealing with the stress of putting up with acting the perfect heir.

As he entered the Uchiha District, he couldn't help but feel disappointment in how many of his clansmen acted outside the compound. Inside the compound, the Uchiha were fairly friendly with each other, if a bit less exuberant and expressive than most. Unfortunately as soon as they stepped out of the compound many became tinged with arrogance, as if they were entitled to certain unreasonable privileges by being a founding clan. Overall, he was disappointed in this part of his clan's behavior.

He stopped himself there and fully prepared himself to face his father. The man had been agitated yesterday, owing to the fact that those four Uchiha had not returned. It was unfortunate his father - or perhaps the elders - would try such a thing, but he could understand his viewpoint. He wanted to bring back prestige to the clan and cast off suspicion of the village.

As soon as the Clan Head saw him, he immediately asked in an even tone of voice, "Itachi, I assume you performed excellently in ANBU today?"

"Hai, Tou-san"

"As expected. Have you heard anything of the four I told you had gone missing overnight?"

Itachi answered, but was barely able to keep the frustration out of his voice when he spoke, "Hai, Tou-san. It seems they are being held in the T and I department for unspecified reasons."

Fugaku took a moment to cobtain himself before responding, "I see. Was there anything to indicate who apprehended them?"

Itachi kept his response short as always, "No, Tou-san."

Fugaku seemed to think for a moment, his face showing mild displeasure with the situation, before dismissing Itachi with a muttered compliment and comment of climbing the ranks of ANBU quickly.

Itachi nodded in acceptance before heading to his room for the rest of the evening to think and study.

His father's attempt at regaining prestige through killing Naruto, while understandable in a stressful position such as his was distasteful. As a shinobi he understood sacrifices had to be made, but to sacrifice an innocent child merely because it might help the clan left a sour taste in Itachi's mouth. Especially a child as important as Naruto. As much as he disliked seeing a child as a military resource, it could not be denied that was what Naruto was. Had the strike been successful and discovered it could throw them into a war.

Taking out a book on the Third Great Shinobi War to study, he thought of how it seemed the Clan had fallen since then. Before they had the trust of the village and bordered on arrogant at times merely from the typical clan pride, but they were not so bitter and withdrawn.

The Kyuubi attack had left a great scar on this village and it seemed it wasn't enough to just blame Naruto. Perhaps with time it would get better, but with his father's latest stunt, the Uchiha would be put under even more scrutiny. He did not like where he saw this going and he could only hope he could resolve this conflict before it came to blows because if it did many people would die.

 **Three Days Later**

Naruto idly touched the right side of his face. It was entirely bandaged to keep the injured part of his face from getting an infection and to keep him from picking at it or even looking at it. Plus it was just yesterday he had gotten his eye transplanted. The doctor wanted to make sure there were no unforeseen adverse reactions to it so now he had to wait for an unspecified amount of time before he could remove the bandages.

He could understand the concern about damaging the eye so soon after the transfer, but it irritated him that he had let such a thing happen in the first place. He supposed this time it worked out in his favor, but he resolved to be more cautious in the future.

He suspected that the Uchiha would be put to death as an Uchiha with a missing eye would cause unwanted questions.

Still it was surprising that the old Hokage had done such a thing. Typically he was a pacifist to a high degree owing to being a war weary veteran. Perhaps this time he was more concerned than usual because this event had left a very visible and permanent scar.

Regardless, he would have to watch himself in the coming storm that was sure to follow his assailant's execution. Some may not only try to pin it on him despite some distrust towards the Uchiha, but it was likely that Hiruzen would give the reason to their execution to try to scare off other attackers.

The fallout of this execution could end in one of two ways. It could work the way Sarutobi intended and people would back off or it could backfire and cause even more problems for him.

Either way, it was interesting to see the Sandaime regrow his spine and remind the people who was in charge.

Discarding the thought for now, Naruto deciding to worry about it later and his thoughts drifted to the Boss.

He had to deliver another package tomorrow so he would have to leave the hospital one way or another so he could get his pay. He didn't much care for the Boss except for the fact that he paid well. Sakumo, he had realized, allowed the man relatively free reign because the man, while having lower morals than many civilians, had better morals than stereotypical crime bosses. He didn't know if that held true in reality; however, he did know the Boss didn't take women or possessions for payment if someone owed him money. He would just force the debtor into labor, it was better than most could hope for from a crime boss.

Then again, he couldn't control all of the red light district or micro manage his men, so he knew some things Sakumo found distasteful went on, but it was lower than it could have been. Of course, the greedy bastard probably only had that policy because he valued money over everything else.

His thoughts of the Underground inevitably led him to wondering what Sakumo would say when he saw him again. He had no doubt the old dog already knew. The White Fang would easily find out about something barely being kept under raps.

He'd probably spew some some obvious and sarcastic advice like 'You should be more careful,' and then follow it up with some stupid comment about how he and Kakashi were mirrors of each other now.

That was one thing he couldn't understand about the legendary man. Why would he fake his own death and leave his son on his own like that if he had cared as much about him as his action indicated? Maybe he thought it would erase shame that was indirectly aimed towards Kakashi from his own disgrace. While it may have done that to an extent, it wasn't worth it to leave his son alone like that to a guy like Sakumo, especially at such a young age.

Now Kakashi was a wreck after all of his team had died. He had observed Sharingan no Kakashi a few times in public, and while he put up an impressive mask, literally and figuratively, he could feel the depression surrounding the man. It seemed he was very sensitive to losing those close to him after his father and also had a hard time letting people in. He had never observed the only known surviving Hatake willingly engage in social functions.

From what he knew, Kakashi still had a successful ANBU career, regrettably it seemed that he had stagnated since the Yondaime's death. Before his death, Kakashi had soared through the ranks at unrivaled speeds, having just been admitted to ANBU at around 16, a record that still stood as far as he knew. If he had continued his rate of growth, he should have been near Kage level by now. He knew it was a massive jump in skill, but the man had been in ANBU for eight years. Surly with the rate of growth he had previously shown he would have been close to that level by now. Instead Naruto had never heard of any feats befitting that level about Kakashi and the man was only an ANBU Captain, an impressive feat for most, but he could be so much better. Though to be fair on that front he had heard a rumor that the man had been offered a spot as a Commander and had turned it down.

It was disappointing and it even annoyed Naruto that a man with such potential had let all that talent go to waste. Perhaps he could do Sakumo and Kakashi a favor by getting Kakashi back into the spirit of improving himself. While he may not hold strong attachments to either of them - he made a point to not form anything too strong - he despised seeing such potential go to waste.

Naruto was brought out of his thoughts by the door opening.

Seeing it was Itachi, Naruto offered a quick greeting with a smile and received one in return.

After the pleasantries were exchanged, Itachi asked, "So, Naruto, how do you feel?"

The blonde answered in a cheerful manner, "I feel a lot better than when I woke up, but my eye kinda feels weird."

Itachi nodded, expecting that answer and decided to explain why it would feel weird, "It probably feels weird to you because those who are not born with a sharingan can not turn it off. The sharingan also requires chakra to keep it active normally, so your chakra automatically flows to it. From what I know, it will always be a drain on your chakra, but it will lessen when your eye is closed or covered." He paused here to check if Naruto understood what he was being told, and seeing the boy nod, he continued, "Just so you aren't surprised, since you haven't used chakra before this, you will probably feel exhausted for a while even with it covered because of the constant drain. Since this is the case, I will wait a month for you to get used to the passive drain before helping you open your chakra to conscious use and training you to use the eye. Do you understand?"

Naruto nodded his understanding, but inwardly scoffed. If his theory was correct, he had his chakra network forcefully opened shortly after his birth when becoming a Jinchuriki. He had never had to 'unlock his chakra.' He had read many books and not once had he experienced anything similar to what was described when opening the network, even when simulating exercises discussed. When he had met Sakumo he had just dove into the use of his chakra.

Seemingly satisfied, Itachi gave a small smile before speaking once more, "I have to go now, I just stopped by to see how you were doing. I will try to stop by occasionally through the month. See you later, Naruto."

After Itachi exited the room, Naruto dropped his head back into his pillow and his mind into his thoughts. From what Itachi had said and what he could feel, the chakra drain of the sharingan was larger than he thought it would be. That meant that his chakra capacity would grow which in turn meant more control exercises.

Oh _joy_.

He shouldn't complain, he wanted to be the best he could in all aspects, so he was going to practice it anyway, now it just became a higher priority.

Perhaps he could neglect Itachi's advice of getting used to the drain and instead get used to his now out of sync vision and improve his chakra control. After a moments thought he discarded the idea of getting used to his new eye. He would test it out to get an idea of it but if he was too used to it there would be an easy case of spotting that he hadn't listened. He wanted Itachi's trust so he'd refrain from using it much.

Moving on from that though, there was the hidden compound he found and its wealth of knowledge. He needed to go back there soon and get his hands on some type of cloning technique so he could go unnoticed. Naruto also resolved to find out more details about his clan.

He was, irritably enough, cut off from his thoughts of how to go about getting that information by the door opening once again.

Putting on a big smile, he cheerfully greeted the person who came through the door, "Hi Yume-chan, how are you?"

The named Yume smiled weakly as she answered, "I'm good Naruto-kun, thank you for asking. I came here to see how you were doing and maybe get you out of that bed if you're up for it."

Naruto kept his smile as he thanked her boisterously. This nurse was one in the hospital that treated him neutrally, but nervously. She seemed to both fear the Kyuubi and what might happen to her for associating with him. It was understandable, though Naruto thought it was merely pathetic. A ninja, even if not a combat oriented one, being scared by what might happen to her by associating with him in _private_ to do her job was a ridiculous thought. Especially considering the populace that hated him mostly consisting of civilians and young shinobi.

Needless to say, Naruto was not a very sympathetic or understanding person when it came to image and prejudice. He simply couldn't relate to caring what others thought of him besides for the purpose of misdirection.

Regardless, Yume went on with checking to make sure he was physically ready to leave the hospital, checking his motor functions and his body was mostly repaired. After she finished, she smiled and spoke once more, "Well Naruto-kun it seems that you're all ready to go. I can check you out, so you can leave now if you want."

Maintaining the large smile, he spoke, "Thanks Yume-chan, you're the best." After that he put the previously prepared black headband across his head to cover his eye.

Yume merely smiled back and walked out of the room as Naruto dashed past her and down the floors of the hospital to the exit.

Once out, he ran through the streets that lead to his house. Still on high alert after his sloppiness three days previous let him take note of the ANBU following him; however, their movements were abnormal, they seemed to be less hidden than they normally would try to be even for simple tasks. Perhaps the old man had assigned this ANBU squad to him to make sure he stayed safe for a while after such a close attempt on his life. He could tell they weren't out to hurt him as he had developed a sort of sixth sense where he could tell if people intended to maim or kill him.

A plausible explanation. They were staying just out of what a normal boy would be able to notice, but in sight enough that even civilians looking at him would be likely to notice them.

This sent a clear message: the Hokage would no longer ignore breaking or even bending the law he had created or any harassment.

Interesting, he would have to ask Sakumo what happened with those Uchiha, perhaps that contributed to the guard and the extra disdain and conversation in the villagers' glares and murmurs today.

Nonetheless, this was troublesome. It would be far more difficult to sneak off now than it previously was which meant he had to make getting a clone technique a top priority. His activities being found out was unacceptable.

Speaking of his ability to detect ill intent, he wondered if it was somehow connected to his clan. Mito's diary had said that the Uzumaki tended to be skilled sensors. Could he have subconsciously developed part of the ability?

More than that, what else were the Uzumaki famous for? He needed to look into this more. Anything the clan was especially famous likely meant he at least had some talent in it. And he needed every advantage he could get.

Perhaps it would also give him some connection to his Clan? No, such a foolish thing as connections to a lost and scattered clan should not be a reason to learn a skill, such emotions were a useless resource in the presence of practicality. Perhaps if he found someone of his clan he would teach them something if they didn't know it, but other than that it was a weakness that could be taken advantage of.

His clan had once been great, now it was fallen. It was a fool's game to hold onto the past like that.

Of course all great things could rise once more, but for now Naruto cared too little for his Clan's glory or some other such nonsense to try to resurrect it. It was very risky and would require many resources he didn't have access to.

For now he needed to get to his apartment and set a pattern he could show the ANBU that could allow him to sneak away. Any slip would be noticed by any of them paying attention. His daytime practices would have to change to give him chances to study in the seclusion of his apartment.

Night would have to be a different story though.

As he walked he planned out what kind of activities could give him the best chance at sleight of hand to study. He could pass off some training as someone wanting to defend themselves after a traumatic experience. Nothing advanced, just a toned down version of his typical workout without any chakra usage.

He could even pass off some of his studying as recreational reading by changing the cover. If he found any of them trying to read over his shoulder he could ask Sakumo to make it into an actual book that he could practice reading code from while avoiding suspicion.

His reputation wouldn't allow him to keep suspicion off more paranoid members of ANBU so he'd have to find a reason to be in his bed a lot. Crying perhaps? How degrading, he refused to shed actual tears merely to trick these fools.

Unfortunately he would have fake it until he could get his hands on a cloning technique. That could be anywhere from a few days to a few months. This would be a very annoying time.

Still, that only meant he had to bug Sakumo more and he wasn't opposed to annoying the old ninja. The man had more than enough fun at his expense.

Seeing his apartment come into sight, he picked up his pace slightly, darting around the people in his way.

As he walked down the lonely halls of his apartment, he idly took notice of the new graffiti the villagers had painted while he was away. Amidst the typical hidden jabs at being a Jinchuuriki through words and some interesting visuals, _Clan Murderer_ was a new one and seemed to be popular. So Sarutobi had executed the Uchiha and told the people why. Amusing.

It seemed they didn't want to earn the ire of the Hokage by blaming him for enforcing his law so they blamed him. Cowards, the lot of them.

Once he entered his apartment, he made a show of doing some cleaning of some things sent through the window and putting a sheet in front of the window to block the hole it had. After doing those tedious things, he went to his room, jumped on the bed face down with his head in his arms, and started to make sniffling sounds.

He still did his best to keep track of the ANBU and despite them not doing their best to keep hidden, they were still tricky. Despite the difficulty of keeping track of the ANBU, he found that three of them were positioned at various points outside the apartment while one was watching him.

Good, that would make studying in secrecy much easier than being watched by four of them. Even better was the fact that the ANBU watching him seemed to have moved outside his room to give him privacy.

What foolishness. You don't just leave your objective unmonitored like that. Emotions that would have you do otherwise were complete nonsense.

Perhaps he was being a bit harsh as her mission was likely to protect him and threaten others, not observe him.

Despite what he thought about the situation, he would still use it to his advantage. Continuing to make those pathetic sniffling sounds so the ANBU would stay outside, he took out a book from a stash he had in the wall and proceeded to read.

* * *

Akiko was having a fairly standard day.

First she woke up at the crack of dawn to start his day with some light exercise and stretching.

After her morning exercises she proceeded to cook herself a light breakfast before heading to ANBU HQ to get her day started.

Once there, she along with those in Squad Bravo did their daily training after gearing up in ANBU HQ. They went to training ground 8 to practice formations along with basic some basic exercise to keep in shape.

By that time it had just been approaching the afternoon when she and her squad had gotten a message that the Hokage had called the village to congregate outside the Hokage Tower.

That was almost never a good sign. The only times the entire village was called like that was to announce a new alliance with another powerful nation or to announce horrendous news such as a war. It was typically the latter.

As far as she knew, there had been no ambassador to discuss such a treaty. That only left some very bad possibilities. Somehow she got the feeling that this was going to be a lot of trouble for her.

When she and her team arrived at the tower, it was to the sight of a confused gathering of ninja and civilians trying to see what was on top of the roof or trying to figure out why the announcement was called.

To her disgust, she picked up on some excited whispers of how it might be to announce the demon was dead because it, _it_ that was what they called him, hadn't been seen for a couple of days.

Akiko couldn't understand how they could talk about a living, breathing person that way. She may be in ANBU and did quite a bit of killing herself due to that occupation, but she would never think of being so brutal as to kill an innocent child. She could understand the hate they held towards him as she had lost her parents in the Kyuubi attack eight years ago, but the boy was clearly not the beast.

Now that she thought about it, she didn't even know the name of the boy. It was shameful, the boy who bore the burden of keeping the Kyuubi locked up and she didn't even know his name.

The Hokage's powerful, booming voice cut off her depressed thoughts.

"People of Konoha you are no doubt wondering why you have been called here. I will start by saying I have discovered some treasonous members of the village."

At this hushed whispers broke out amongst the crowd. Akiko didn't listen to it, caught up in her own thoughts.

While treason was certainly a bad crime to commit, it typically wouldn't warrant a village wide announcement like this. The only time that would happen was with an S-Rank ninja.

Besides the Hokage, the only S-Rank nin loyal to Konoha now, as far as she knew, were Jiraiya and Tsunade of the Sannin. The ANBU Marshal might also tap this rank, but she knew he hadn't done anything public enough to warrant it being official. Jiraiya was also outside the village for his spy network and Tsunade hadn't been seen for years. It was also known that the Hokage let her do this for one reason or another.

So why was it that this was so important?

Apparently the Hokage saw fit to answer or was annoyed at the murmuring because his voice suddenly boomed throughout the village with a commanding "SILENCE!"

This seemed to remind the people of just who was talking. He may put up a grandfatherly front for the village and even act the part, but beneath that was a hardened warrior that had seen the horrors of war and come out on top, feared by all his enemies a number of times.

He continued calmly, but with an edge in his voice, daring anyone to interrupt again, "As I was saying, I have found some treasonous ninja among our ranks. As is the punishment for treason, they shall be executed; however, I believe I must tell you what treasonous act they committed. They unjustly attempted to murder a citizen of Konoha and violated a law I set eight years ago that this village seems to have forgotten. I have turned a blind eye for too long, but now should you violate it, you shall suffer the consequences."

As he ended, four Uchiha were pushed forward for all to see and suddenly everyone but the children knew what he was talking about.

The law that was constantly bent was the one that said no one was to speak of in any manner as to who the container of the Kyuubi was or harm him. People had gotten off the hook previously because the ninja forces were kept busy after the attack to show Konoha was still strong. In addition, the Uchiha Police force didn't exactly favor the boy in the first place.

They were also let off the hook because there hadn't been much physical abuse or proof of it. If there was any, it was minor aside one occasion, but Akiko didn't know much about it other than it had left the boy with mental scars. It was still much more abuse than any child should suffer, but it hadn't been extreme.

For the Hokage to do something like this meant that the four that were to be executed had come dangerously close to killing the boy.

That was disturbing, a child killed within her own home by those who were supposed to protect its citizens. It only inspired more disappointment and shame for her village.

Looking to the crowd, she saw various reactions. From the more reasonable she saw remorse. From the faction that hated the boy there came outrage, the Uchiha being especially vocal. From those who were indifferent to the boy there seemed to be only a minor distaste, probably because of the execution of members of a prominent clan.

The Hokage ignored all of this and gave a nod to the ANBU holding the Uchiha in their restraints. Then with eerie unison the four ANBU sliced through the necks of the four Uchiha.

Needless to say, the crowd erupted into cries of outrage and horror. A quick glance showed most parents had been able to shield their child's eyes from the execution.

The Hokage ignored this and walked back inside the tower as the ANBU disappeared with the corpses.

Akiko was surprised by this harsh action of the always so kind village leader. She knew that he was a hardened shinobi, but this must have really pissed him off if he resorted to public execution.

She couldn't think on it anymore as a hawk landed on her team leader's shoulder. Kuma took the parchment attached to the bird's leg, glanced it over, and motioned for her and two others of Bravo Squad to follow him.

Nodding to him, the three of them disappeared and made their way to the Hokage's office.

They entered the office silently to see the Hokage sitting at his desk with a serious expression on his face.

"Remove your masks."

It was not a request, it was a command.

Without hesitation or comment they complied.

The Hokage gazed at them all with hard eyes before speaking, "You are some of my most trusted ANBU. I trust that you know that Naruto is just a boy and will treat him fairly. That is why I'm assigning you with the mission of protecting Naruto Uzumaki and to make sure that the citizens of Konoha know I will no longer turn a blind eye to his harassment."

All four of the ANBU's eyes widened to varying degrees, but it was Akiko that spoke first. "With all due respect sir, are you sure you should assign me to this mission. I am still young and remember losing my parents in the attack, it may cloud my judgement."

In response, the Hokage merely smiled slightly as he answered, "And that is why I trust you to follow the mission. You recognize the fact that you may feel such a thing, yet there is concern in your eyes. Despite your age, you are very reasonable and skilled. Besides, that is one reason this is a team mission. It will make sure that even if one were to ignore the mission, another could still carry it out."

Akiko felt honored that the Hokage had this much faith in her. Looking to her squad showed that they seemed to accept her as well. Knowing that they trusted her despite her age relieved her a great deal.

It seemed that Kuma - she didn't know his real name - wanted to get more information, "Hokage-sama, where is the boy now and when will we start protecting him?"

The Hokage turned his attention to Kuma, his eyes twinkling with a twinge of amusement, and gave a somewhat alarming answer. "Well you can start now and if I am right, he should be leaving the hospital right about now, so you should probably hurry. I hear he can be quite elusive."

All four of them hurried to strap on their masks as they bolted out the door and to the hospital.

Once they arrived at the hospital, they saw a head of blonde hair in the crowd.

As they followed the boy Akiko got more and more concerned. She saw all the looks of loathing the villagers would throw his way. She watched as the boy made his way to the red light district, and distressingly enough made his way into a rundown apartment building.

Akiko finally realized just how awful a place he lived in as she saw the horrible things painted on the walls of the halls leading to the apartment the boy lived.

After entering the apartment after she saw how it was pretty messy, as expected of a child who lived alone, but what wasn't expected were the things thrown through the window and the glimpses she caught of the horrible things some notes attached to rocks said.

'No one should have to live like this, let alone a child.'

With this thought came an overwhelming amount of guilt and disappointment not only with the village, but with herself. Questions surfaced in her mind such as 'How could the village let a child live in these conditions?', 'How could I have not known about this?', and 'Was Konoha truly such a terrible place?'.

With these questions came answers and the seeds of doubt. The village was blinded by their hatred and she was too apathetic to care what happened to the boy. Konoha had always seemed like a great place to her, but maybe she just hadn't seen all of it.

With these realizations, she resolved to become more caring about what happened to the blonde and no longer ignore the more unsavory parts of Konoha.

As the boy went into his bedroom after he cleaned up a bit, she watched him as he flopped lifelessly on the bed and started crying.

'It's not right that a child holds this much sadness. I feel like I'm intruding on a private moment, I'm sure I can guard him while outside his door.'

With that she silently left the room to guard the bedroom.

* * *

To say Sarutobi Hiruzen was having a difficult few days would be an understatement.

To start Naruto, a major deterrent to war with other countries, had been attacked and nearly killed by a clan who understood his importance. Not only was he disappointed they risked such a thing as a leader, he also took it personally as a failure to hide the Jinchuuriki's identity and then fail to give him a relatively normal childhood.

He may not have met the boy personally much as he had many other responsibilities, but he cared for all of the village's occupants. He had seen how cheery the boy could be even when faced with the disdain of the village. He wasn't naive enough to believe that was all there was, he knew there was great pain hidden behind that smile, nonetheless it was impressive he managed to keep even that up in the face of overwhelming hate.

He hadn't thought that people would be so bold as to try to kill him, especially with his declaration eight years previous, but he had been lenient with his beloved village which led them to believe that he didn't care about what they did. That it had merely been a token effort put into going with his grandfatherly persona. This was entirely false. He cared a great deal about the boy for various reasons - he had merely turned a blind eye because of his near overwhelming work load and belief in his people.

Hiruzen hadn't grown naive as many of his colleagues seemed to think. He may have grown a bit soft and war weary so he tried to solve things peacefully; however he knew that sometimes you had to give a show of force to remind people that you were to be listened to. He didn't like this method - it left a sour taste in his mouth and he felt too much like a tyrant when doing something like that.

This time he saw no other choice for the good of his home. That was why he had decided on a public execution of the four Uchiha. He needed to show that he was still a veteran of all three of the Great Shinobi Wars, and his word would not be ignored.

He also knew this would further sour relations between the Uchiha and the village, but that was a sacrifice he would have to make. He just hoped he wouldn't regret it.

Hopefully the guard he had just dispatched for Naruto would do some good for the boy.

He turned his head to the door as it opened and greeted the man who walked in, "Danzo."

Danzo was an old man - a former teammate of the Sandaime - and he dressed in a blue kimono with a black garment covering the right side of his body, part of it holding his arm in a cast-like way. The skin on it was clearly scarred, a result of one of the final battles the man had been in. His head was also covered in bandages, some coming down his face to cover his right eye. Danzo also had a cane to held in his left hand.

The other man returned the gesture with a nod, "Hiruzen."

Eyeing his old friend carefully, the Hokage asked, "Why are you here Danzo?"

The Yami no Shinobi merely gazed steadily at Hiruzen before answering in the nearly emotionless tone he had adopted, only the slightest hint of approval could be heard, "I am pleased to see you haven't grown completely soft Hiruzen. It seems you are still at least partially the warrior and leader I knew during the Second Great Shinobi War," he paused and let Sarutobi's grimace fade before answering his initial question, "I have come to ask if you will let someone train the boy as he is meant to be trained."

Hiruzen gave a heavy sigh and went into thought. Previously he had adamantly refused to have Naruto introduced to any part of the shinobi world, thinking it best to have him live as normal of a childhood as he could.

However, with recent developments and how Naruto's life had been so far, he realized he would never have a normal childhood. This was part of the reason he had permitted Itachi to train Naruto to use the Sharingan and authorize the transplant in the first place.

On the other hand, he realized Danzo wanted the boy trained extensively and made into a living weapon. Technically speaking, this is what all shinobi were, but they also had lives of their own. Danzo wanted to make Naruto an emotionless drone loyal to the village, like those Root drones he had threatened into disbanding. He knew the man had just downsized, but he would let Danzo have that small freedom. He recognized they did do some necessary work for the village.

Simultaneously, a deep, dark part of his mind whispered that leaving things the way they were now could make Naruto a flight risk. It was better if he was loyal, even at the price of the boy's humanity.

Sarutobi ruthlessly silenced that part of his mind.

Regardless, he still needed to do say something to appease Danzo or he may take matters with Naruto into his own hands.

Luckily with Itachi already going to see the boy he could merely assign some missions to the young ANBU to train Naruto. That way Danzo would be somewhat appeased, Naruto would learn how to protect himself, and Itachi would get some time off from dangerous missions and clan politics.

It was a win-win-win.

He told Danzo as much and while he obviously wasn't happy - he rarely was - he seemed pacified for the moment.

As the old war hawk was departing he said one last thing to Sarutobi, "It was nice to have this chat, old friend," his cane not making a sound as he left.

With that parting remark, the old man walked out the door, leaving Sarutobi stunned.

Danzo hadn't called him anything like that in years. The Hokage felt a small smile tug at his lips. Perhaps Danzo wasn't entirely lost in his sea of darkness after all.

* * *

" _An eye for an eye makes the world go round." - Naruto Uzumaki_

* * *

Hope you enjoy, any suggestions/criticisms welcomed. Anyone willing to beta would be nice as well.


	4. Chapter 4

**Testing and Revelations**

Naruto was once more visiting the underground to see Sakumo. It was easy to sneak out during the night from the ANBU, especially as they, or at least the one tasked with following him closest seemed too sentimental to watch him directly. They were also less attentive after a full day, especially as they didn't expect someone trying to leave.

As he turned around a table full of rambunctious men, he saw Sakumo sitting in the same corner he always sat with a cup of something in front of him - likely sake or tea. While he walked to the booth he reflected on what he needed to get from the man. A cloning technique so he could stay out of scrutiny while doing things that were worth his time.

He would also probably punch the man in his stupid masked face when he made fun of his sloppiness.

As he entered the booth, Sakumo looked at him, his eyes filled with mirth. When the White Fang opened his mouth, Naruto knew he was going to hate what the man would say. "Oh, Naruto, making a fashion statement to your peers? Taking after Kakashi are you?"

Naruto was right, he wanted to punch that stupid look off his sensei's stupid face. He barely held himself back. Getting riled up about it wouldn't help, so instead he shot back, "Tch, well at least I got something out of it. I'm taking after Kakashi more closely than you think."

Sakumo, to his credit, merely blinked in surprise. "You got a Sharingan implanted?"

Responding in a tone that implied he didn't want to talk about it further, he answered, "Yes, I did. Now I have come to the conclusion that I need some way to be in two places at the same time, preferably in a way that I can know what happened to the clone so it won't look suspicious if I were questioned on something I did."

Sakumo decided to drop the subject of the Sharingan, he didn't need to baby the blonde, he was strong and knew perfectly well the risks of experimenting with new techniques. That experiment in their spar should've really drilled it in. The boy could push his own boundaries without breaking just as Kakashi had. Instead he thought about his charge's request.

He did indeed know of a technique that fit the description Naruto gave; however, that technique was forbidden for a reason. He knew that Naruto had the reserves to perform it, but he didn't know if the blonde would use it responsibly.

Normally he wouldn't question Naruto's ability to use anything responsibly, he was a responsible and cautious person by nature barring a few cases of his curiosity pushing the boundaries. What made him hesitant to trust the blonde with the technique was the very trait that caused the boy to push the boundaries those few times. His curiosity and thirst to learn was a fantastic trait for anyone; however, it was also one of the few emotions the boy had little control over. Near every other emotion the boy had nearly mastered, able to hold it at bay and let out in bursts, so much so that his actions could seem robotic.

The Jinchuriki had an obsession with learning that bordered on unhealthy. If he gave the technique to the blonde, Sakumo was worried that he would use it to learn at an increased pace. While this wasn't a bad thing, it could become a problem if he took in too much information at once. If that happened, it had the potential to severely harm the boy's brain despite his incredible healing. There was no coming back from a brain that was damaged too much even with the potential healing the Kyuubi could provide.

Oh he had no doubt Naruto would test the limits of the Jutsu before he tried to take in that kind of information, but the fact was that he could miscalculate. The boy wasn't anywhere near infallible. Anything too enticing and the boy could become a slave to his desires despite the recent injuries he'd taken due to his experimenting. And something like the _Kage Bunshin_ was tailor made to be the wet dream of someone like Naruto. Even if he didn't fall too far for his desire for knowledge, the boy already put himself through an insane training regime, he shouldn't push it much more than what he already did.

With this in mind, he decided to partially grant his request and in a month or two grant him the actual Jutsu he was looking for. Perhaps test his caution and discipline.

"I do know a Jutsu that does what you are asking," at this admission he saw some excitement flash in his apprentice's eyes before the boy suppressed it, "however I am concerned you may overuse it despite your caution, so I will teach you a different clone technique. We can start with that before moving on to the Jutsu you want. It is a fairly advanced Jutsu after all, a Kinjutsu even."

When he heard that Sakumo wouldn't teach him the Jutsu he wanted, Naruto's eyes flashed with fury. Only years of practice restraining his fury kept him from lashing out.

Luckily, when the blonde heard that he would be taught a substitute before learning the more advanced technique placated him. To think it was a Kinjutsu. It would be the first one he ever learned.

However, if it was classified a Kinjutsu then he must've underestimated just how dangerous the information feedback could be, for that had to be the reason it was a classified a Kinjutsu.

Filing this information away for later, Naruto nodded in thanks to the man before asking to be taught the technique. Sakumo nodded his consent and got up to walk to the underground arena.

As they reached the arena, Sakumo started to explain the cloning Jutsu, "The Jutsu I will be teaching is called the _Doton Bunshin no Jutsu._ As the name implies, you make a clone by pushing your chakra into the earth - like many other _Doton_ Jutsu - and molding it into your form. Unfortunately these types of clones can't adapt to situations very well. You -"

"So in other words they're dumb?" Naruto deadpanned.

He was ignored, "have to give them detailed instructions mentally or out loud if they are already formed. Now, I think a demonstration is in order."

With that, Sakumo deliberately went through the hand signs and, needlessly in Naruto's humble opinion, called out the name of the jutsu as the ground beside the White Fang began to distort and form into the shape of the man, color and all. Likely a result of the chakra keeping its form taking the users intentions and making a minor genjutsu to do so.

Sakumo stayed quiet as he watched his student observe the technique before he tried it himself.

As expected, he didn't get it, as nearly anyone - especially one as relatively inexperienced and young as Naruto - trying a jutsu for the first time wouldn't, the only consistent exception was someone with a Sharingan copying it and Naruto hadn't moved his headband to observe it. Even if they did something like that, it was by no means perfect, those with the Sharingan merely did the technique as it was seen done, perhaps modifying the amount of chakra in it at most.

This was why the Sharingan could be dangerous. If the user copied something from an opponent that didn't know what they were doing, the opponent screwed up, or it was a suicide technique, then bad things would happen to all parties involved.

The Sharingan, despite being formidable, was not as infallible as the Uchiha made it out to be.

What was surprising was when the ground did in fact warble, even rising into a small lump with two stubs, yet wasn't anything like a human. With a somewhat inexperienced natural _Doton_ user, doing that on first try would definitely be expected, even getting a shape wouldn't be all that difficult for them. Naruto however, was no _Doton_ practitioner. In fact this was his first experience with the element - aside from the extremely minor basic survival technique to clear a small hole for a fire - as far as he knew. Though the resourceful boy may have hidden one from him.

Still, the blonde wasn't even an experienced practitioner of any element. Granted, he was talented and powerful but exhibiting this type of skill for Ninjutsu was surprising. He wasn't sure if even Kakashi had exhibited this type affinity for Ninjutsu.

Not only that, but Naruto had a Wind and Water affinity. Having two with little or no prior training and no Kekkei Genkai was incredible. However, Futon users, and to a lesser extent, Suiton users tended to have a harder time with Doton Jutsu.

So for Naruto to be able to even make the ground rise was quite the accomplishment. Naruto, as always, was quite displeased. He seemed to only be satisfied with perfection, and sometimes not even what most called perfection pleased the pariah. It made for a fantastic student and a dangerous person.

Ending his contemplation, he watched Naruto try a few more times before he decided to leave. Naruto didn't need his constant supervision, in fact, it would likely annoy the blonde. And as much fun as it was to heckle the blonde he knew better than to mess with a ninja training a new technique, even one as typically tame as a clone technique. Especially one with as obsessive tendencies as Naruto had.

* * *

Naruto had been going at the new Jutsu for close to an half an hour now and he was already getting a bit tired. He partially attributed this to just having the Sharingan implanted. He hadn't been tired like this after just half an hour of training of this kind in... well probably since his first lesson with Sakumo.

Still, he had always been a stamina freak and if he was already starting to tire, then the Sharingan must be more of a drain than he had thought. Perhaps it would lessen with time to get used to it, but if it continued like this when covered then it might be more of a hindrance than help.

For now though he would keep it, learn its secrets, and only then if it was still that much of a hindrance would he rid himself of it.

Still, his progress during this half hour did not satisfy him. He was only able to mold the earth into the loose shape of a human and it was too short to be him. It was infuriating! Honestly, how hard could it really be, was he just not doing it right?

No, that couldn't be it. He knew he had been doing it right. Then what was wrong with him? Was he just not talented enough? That question caused ice cold fury to race through his veins. All his life he had been told that he was talentless, that he wouldn't turn out to be anything special. That he wouldn't even be able to measure up to the average.

No more!

Intellectually, he knew he was bounds ahead of his peers. He felt it wasn't just because of necessity and a head start in training, that he had talent. However being put down since day one had some unconscious effects on his self confidence.

If he didn't have the talent, he would work for it as he had everything else in his life. He would become something noteworthy even if he didn't have talent. He was plenty willing to put in as much hard work as was necessary.

Maito Gai hadn't been particularly talented from what he had heard, yet now he was one of Konoha's best.

Yes he would forge his path by his own two hands no matter how much blood and sweat he had to lose. He refused to shed tears though, tears were for the weak, tears were for those who couldn't face their problems, tears were those who had _joyous_ lives. He couldn't afford to be weak and he had never had a joyous life, he barely had a handful of memories he could look back on fondly.

With that burning fury and unmovable pride, he pushed himself all night until he only had enough energy to sneak back into his apartment before daylight. He lay in his bed exhausted, but feeling a little more accomplished.

He had been able to consistently use the Earth Clones Jutsu, now he just had to perfect it.

* * *

Itachi Uchiha woke up early, as he always did, and got ready to start his day.

Going through his morning ritual of brushing teeth, getting dressed, and eating breakfast did little other than get him prepared for what would almost certainly be another dreadful day with clan politics mixed with his new and vigorous training in ANBU.

His father had not been pleased with the four Uchiha being executed to say the least. He knew that if he had been found to be involved in any way with the attempt on Naruto's life that he would be in deep trouble despite being a Clan Head.

If he was found to have ordered it or known of it and ignored it, the man wouldn't be executed, as he was a Clan Head and a still a competent shinobi, he wouldn't be executed, but this would have an effect on his word in inter clan politics. With the civilians, his word may be taken as a hero's, but the majority, and more importantly notable, shinobi would not see it the same way. They would see it as an act to attempt to weaken Konoha and open it for an invasion.

Very few who were alive during any big war wanted that to happen again.

On the other hand, Itachi could understand where his father was coming from. Many in the clan despised Uzumaki and wanted him dead. Fugaku, as Clan Head, had to appease them or he could be replaced, and while his father was far from an ideal leader, he was more experienced and competent than many others who would try to take the seat of Clan Head.

Of course Itachi suspected his father held a grudge against Naruto as well, but it was smaller or much better controlled than many others.

Regardless, he at least took solace in the fact he would be able to escape clan politics and his father to ANBU for a time, even if it involved grueling training, before he had to hear his father vent. So traveling to ANBU HQ, Itachi dressed himself in his ANBU equipment in the locker room with Team Ro and started to head towards the training grounds.

He didn't get far out of HQ before his Taicho stopped him. Hatake Kakashi, or Inu as was known in ANBU and most Jonin, was his ANBU captain and from the short time Itachi had interacted with the man, he had gathered that the man was full of regret, but an experienced shinobi.

"You know Itachi, it's unfortunate that those family members of yours were traitors. You have my condolences and if you need someone to talk to, I always have open ears."

His words were not what he expected, nonetheless he was grateful for them. Despite his dislike for their actions, they were still clan members and it pained his heart to have to be the one to catch them.

"Thank you Inu-taicho. I may take you up on that offer, but I am fine at the moment."

Kakashi just nodded his understanding and walked to the training ground to begin the drills designed to integrate him into Team Ro.

They went over basic formations for different scenarios, reacting to hypothetical threats, and occasionally gave advice or trash talked. Team Ro was a lively bunch.

Still, some didn't like that someone as young as Itachi had gotten into ANBU. Some due to jealousy and others due to concern. Fortunately, there were others on the team who would defend him.

One such person was Kakashi as he had been indoctrinated into ANBU at a young age as well. Another was Tora, one of the more reclusive operatives even among ANBU, only really known to be acquainted with Kakashi.

He didn't know much about Tora other than the fact that he dedicated almost all his time to ANBU, had been in ANBU at a young age, and was a skilled shinobi.

Regardless, Itachi was grateful they looked out for him. He didn't have many people he could call friends, but they were definitely some that he could see himself becoming more than just acquainted with due to operating in the same division.

After a couple of hours of drilling and training, they went back to ANBU HQ for lunch.

As Itachi was about to go sit alone in an unoccupied corner, Kakashi came up to him with a proposition, "Ne, Itachi, why don't you sit with us. It's okay if you want to be alone, but you should get to know your teammates a bit better. I understand you may not like being around people much and want some quiet, I was and still am like that, but maybe you can change the team's view of you."

Itachi merely stared at Kakashi for a few seconds before nodding his consent. He may not typically partake in much conversation like this, however perhaps it would be different than peers he was used to dealing with.

Throughout lunch, he mostly listened to the others conversations as he didn't have much to say and preferred to listen. Kakashi still tried to get him to voice his opinion on certain topics, and it seemed to make the team a little more comfortable around him.

After lunch was finished, they immediately left to go on their assigned perimeter check of the village. There was almost never anything of interest on these from what he had gathered, but it was important to keep vigilant in case of intruders.

They didn't patrol the area directly around Konoha, instead it was about two miles out. There was little point to patrol very close to Konoha as the Barrier corps took care of that with the detection barrier surrounding Konoha. After they got back with no sightings of unusual activity, it was nearing 5 o'clock. Itachi and his team were let off at this time as their shift was over.

Some closer friends among the unit mingled for a bit, some even making plans to go out. Itachi, however, wasn't close to anyone yet and wasn't in a social mood so he left for the woods around the Compound.

Arriving in the woods, Itachi couldn't help but bask in the serene feeling of nature. Why couldn't people stop and be at peace like this forest? Perhaps humanity merely wanted to keep moving forward in pursuit of their goals, so much so that they completely ignored that which surrounded them, including the well being of others.

The forests of Konoha were Itachi's favorite place not only because of its serene quality, but also because in these forests he had discovered something that showed him peace could be attained. As he neared the tree in which his belief in his dream was given, he couldn't help but admire it.

At first glance there was nothing special about the tree aside from being quite large even among the trees in Konoha; however, after closer inspection, one could see the faded carvings of a simple symbol. It was of the Senju and Uchiha crests joined together.

Itachi knew his history and as such recognized that the Uchiha and Senju did not get along for as far back as history was recorded. To see such a symbol and how Konoha now stood showed that even the most hated groups could come together and create something great.

Itachi realized that Konoha was far from perfect, nevertheless it was his home so he would protect it as best he could while also trying to seek a path to peace so no more young - or any - generations had to endure such a terrible thing as a great war.

Thus far he merely looked to climb the ranks and gain respect. To change the world, you needed to be well respected and feared - as much as he hated to admit it - that was how this world worked. Propose an idea that may cause a deviation from what it had been in long memory without the proper respect and fear and you would be laughed at.

It was unfortunate but people were stubborn like that.

As Itachi looked to the sky, he noticed he had been lost in his musings and it was now getting pretty late. His mother and brother would worry if he was not home soon. With that in mind, he made his way home.

As soon as he entered he was greeted by his mother, "Itachi-kun, how was your day?"

Itachi answered in the soft voice he took on when with his family when politics weren't involved, only a hint of fond exasperation coloring his tone, "It was a regular day with no threats. A typical scouting around the perimeter of the village, Kaa-san."

Mikoto smiled at her oldest son for the briefest of moments when she briefly turned away from her cooking, "That's good to hear. I was worried something was wrong. You're home kinda late, don't you think?" She paused to add an ingredient and stir the pot before continuing in a suggestive tone, "Is there something or someone you would like to tell me about?"

Itachi barely blinked at his mother's implication before brushing it off, "I was merely enjoying the forest, Kaa-san," the prodigy said in such a flat tone that it caused Mikoto to pout.

"It seems I can't expect any grandchildren soon then? Well I suppose it is a bit early for that anyway."

Itachi decided he would ignore that statement entirely and drove the conversation in a different direction, "Kaa-san, do you know where Sasuke-kun is? He didn't greet me like usual when I came in."

Mikoto pondered a moment, seemingly disappointed she couldn't embarrass her son, and answered, "Well I think I saw little Sasuke leave to walk around the compound a while ago. He should be back soon."

As if her word was could predict the future, the door slid open and Sasuke walked in with all the dignity his eight year old self could produce, which was predictably not much.

However, as soon as the boy caught sight of Itachi, all that faux regality bled from his form in favor of childish excitement, "Nii-san!" the boy shouted and bounded over to hug his brother.

Itachi smiled indulgently and bent down to receive the hug, "Hello Otouto, how was your day?"

Sasuke proceeded to explain in great detail how his day had been, complete with exaggerated hand motions. Itachi listened in seemingly great interest and indulged the boy with a question every so often.

Mikoto smiled at the scene. Itachi normally didn't show a lot of emotion, preferring to sit back and listen or give quick responses. Not to say her boy was emotionless, he was just a reserved young teen. It did her heart good to see him interacting with his little brother like this. It had broken her heart when she saw how Itachi turned from a sweet, loving, and innocent if quiet boy to a quiet young man who had a realistic and very adult-like outlook on life.

That was the price of war. It turned children into soldiers and those children into corpses or adults. Her mournful thoughts were cut off by the sound of a timer going off signifying that dinner was done.

Mikoto quickly turned to the food and started to plate it as Itachi ushered Sasuke to the table. As if the food trumpeted his arrival, Fugaku walked through the door looking quite worn out.

"Rough day, Fugaku-koi?"

She was answered with the signature Uchiha, "Hn."

Of course being an Uchiha herself, she could understand what that particular 'hn' meant. As she expected, Fugaku had a long day dealing with the Uchiha elders and council.

It was no surprise after what had happened yesterday with the executions. The whole clan was outraged, even the ones who typically didn't show much care either way for the Kyuubi container.

She didn't hold any malice towards the boy like most over 20, she only felt sorry that the child had to live in such circumstances. She had only seen the boy a few times and he seemed to deal with it well enough. The callous kunoichi in her just told her that people were dealt various hands in life, his was just a bad one. It was a fact of life that he had to deal with.

She still felt for him, but being a hardened shinobi, she had seen many atrocities - caused some herself - and an orphan that people didn't help was nothing new, especially one that was a Jinchuuriki. Many of them had a story like the boy's, it was a common destiny among those dealt his hand. Kushina-chan had barely escaped such a fate even if she wasn't exactly trusted her first years here since she had been an outsider.

Besides, she had enough responsibilities and problems in the clan on her own that she didn't have time to help the boy. Doing so would only turn near all the village, including much of her clan after those executions - on her and she wasn't too eager for that. It was self-preservation really.

Still, the Uchiha in her was quite upset that one of her own had been put to death regardless of circumstances. She understood the consequences it would have for the village if the boy had been killed, but that didn't temper the fact that she didn't like seeing her clansmen die.

She scanned the faces of her family as they all dug in after a quick 'Itadakimasu'. Her oldest son was in thought as always, possibly about the executions. She could never really tell exactly what he was thinking nowadays.

Sasuke had schooled his face into a passive facade after her husband had entered to try to gain some approval from him, but it was apparent he was struggling to contain his lingering excitement from talking to Itachi. The woman could also glimpse a hint of desperation for acknowledgment from Fugaku.

Fugaku had set his face in stone as he ate, probably contemplating how to proceed with the situation with the elders and council. He may not get as much heat from the civilians in the clan, but they were still upset about their kin being executed. Add them to the heat the ninja gave and the stress became quite high. She may not truly love Fugaku with all her heart due to their arranged marriage, but she still cared for him a great deal.

She had to stop her observations as Fugaku spoke, "Itachi, I presume your day in ANBU went well?" After barely a nod from Itachi, he continued, "Have you found anything more on why our kin were executed and who they were brought in by?"

Another shake of the head was his answer.

Fugaku seemed to slump ever so slightly. "I see. I suppose the Hokage has buried all leads then."

After that final comment, dinner continued in silence save a few questions of how each of their days were with short answers. When finished, they all went their separate ways with Sasuke following Itachi to his room.

Once alone in the kitchen, Mikoto sighed in despondence. She hated how her oldest son didn't - and hadn't for a while - relied on her. Even Sasuke was leaning more away from her trying to seek the approval of his father.

It was frustrating how this family had become. In the years prior to the Kyuubi attack, she had been happy. Her family had been close, the Uchiha accepted in the village, and her best friend alive and expecting a child.

The Kyuubi attack had ruined it all. The Uchiha became outcasts, her best friend died, and her family grew apart. In the silence of the kitchen after all the silverware was put away she voiced a question to the silence quietly, "Why is the world such a terrible place?"

Her question went unanswered.

* * *

Naruto woke up feeling sore. It was by no means a good feeling, but he was also quite used to it. Using so much chakra in a single training session had a habit of tiring a person out. Not quite in muscle fatigue, just an overall feeling of soreness even if it was creating something like a clone.

What was different today was that he could feel a constant drain on him. The Sharingan, he noted after his clouded mind cleared. He also remembered getting that clone technique working. It still had a ways to go until it was usable in his books, but it was a good start. Besides, he still needed to test its limitations.

With absent mindedness born of repetition, he got out of bed and went to clean himself up. Brush teeth, shower, get dressed. It was very monotonous. After his morning routine he got some breakfast and left the house.

As he left, he noticed his newly assigned ANBU escort stayed on him. How troublesome, he would have to lose them and try to make it look like a combination of luck and skill gained from a life on the streets. After all, there was no way a team of ANBU would lose their target merely because he/she got lucky.

He took some time to bounce through some of the more populated areas of Konoha, eventually leading to a short confrontation he instigated by bumping into someone. He used the distraction to gather a small crowd that soon caught sight of the ANBU and slowly tried to disperse with the look of children caught with their hand in the cookie jar. He took the opportunity provided to set off a preset paint bomb that splattered the one he had bumped into and a few merchant stands. As a little chaos erupted he took the opportunity to slip behind a stall and behind a few more to reach the corner of an alley.

After he turned the corner to the alley, he dropped down a chute into the sewers he had found a few months ago that had been hastily covered up. He hated how this place smelled, but it was a necessary sacrifice.

Now he would use the rest of the day practicing and testing the limits of his _**Doton Bunshin**_.

* * *

Back on the surface, the ANBU assigned to follow Naruto were in a panic.

How the hell had they lost him?! The boy had literally only been involved in a minor confrontation that they quickly dissuaded the crowd from escalating and then a small paint bomb went off. Naruto was almost certainly the culprit as he had a reputation for being mischievous. It was expected, even him trying to make himself scarce had been expected. What was not so predictable was the fact that he would be able to pull it off so well that in the ensuing seconds of panic during which the had lost sight of him, the boy had managed to slip away from them.

That wouldn't be terribly difficult for a ninja to pull off since they hadn't been particularly alert with such an assignment, but this was just a kid. There was no signs of struggle either so that meant the kid had disappeared on his own, most likely down an alley. Unfortunately all the alleys within reasonable distance were empty, the only possible exit being a manhole and those were all sealed by Fuinjutsu to keep saboteurs out in addition to weighing a lot more than a kid could pick up.

They were so dead.

Akiko made her panic known, "What are we gonna do?! We lost him and Hokage-sama will have our heads if something happens to him!"

Her captain, taking charge of the situation, gave orders, "Calm down, he couldn't have gotten far. We'll split up and search for him. When you find him, send a signal. Disperse!"

Akiko took the area to the West inside the walls. As she searched the area, she couldn't help but feel a bit of worry. What if Naruto was hurt because of her negligence?

The more time that passed, the more guilty and worried she became, until finally after eight hours of constant searching, Akiko found him in a clearing in the forest west of the village. As soon as she spotted him, she sighed in relief and notified her team of her position.

While she waited for them to arrive, she watched the boy. All he was doing was sitting there. It seemed like he was playing with something in his hands, but she couldn't get a good look.

What was he even doing so far out of the village? Akiko supposed that he could be hiding from the villagers and wanted to be left alone, which was reasonable, but how in the world had he gotten here without their notice? Not only that, but how had she not noticed him in her previous sweeps of the area?

Her contemplation was cut off by three swirls of leaves heralding the arrival of her teammates. Her captain went through a series of hand signs to communicate, " _How is the boy?"_

" _He seems fine. He has only fiddled with his hands."_

Kuma nodded and motioned to continue their watch with more vigilance. It only took a few minutes of watching Naruto before he moved again. This time he got up slowly with a somber expression on his face.

He soon began to meander towards the village at a subdued pace. When the village was getting close, the blonde suddenly put on a smile and walked through the parting masses.

With morbid realization, Akiko concluded that the smile that everyone saw and the civilians so despised was also entirely fake. She was really starting to worry. Did he even have any friends?

The more she thought about it, the more she realized how much she had missed by taking information and rumors mostly at face value. Inu-taicho would be dissapointed. With that realization, she became immersed in her thoughts, moving mechanically to guard the bedroom door once Naruto went in, as such she missed how sloppy and mechanical the blonde's movements were.

 _ **A few hours earlier with Naruto**_

After he had lost the ANBU, Naruto went to his favored training ground to practice his newest Jutsu. It was a large, open area with a small lake, no grass, sat below a massive cliff jutting out from the Hokage Mountain, and was hidden by some basic Fuinjutsu. He didn't know who had built it, but the person obviously wanted a training ground to practice privately. Naruto had only found it by luck on one of his runs for the Boss.

He was now about two hours into testing the limits of his _**Doton Bunshin,**_ and he was about ready to snap.

Normally, Naruto was a fairly patient person; however, one of the few things he was impatient about was dealing with idiots or something that had stupid mechanics. The _Doton Bunshin_ had the unique quality of being able to be both of those things simultaneously. In two hours he had only accomplished two things. One, which was barely even something worth noting, was creating the clones twice as efficiently as his first few successful attempts the night before. The second, which was more a deduction than an accomplishment, was that the clones were incredibly hard to get to do exactly what he wanted even when he had in mind exactly what he wanted them to do and were only marginally less dumb when he gave commands aloud. Even then they had to be detailed to a ridiculous degree in order to accomplish the task he set. It was so frustrating that he wanted to pull his hair out.

Tell them to move right and they don't stop until they hit a wall. Order them to stay still and they revert to stone after a while. It was quite infuriating. The only reasonable combat purpose they served was as a distraction, though at least in a fight they acted on instinct rather than having to be given intricate commands. That also unfortunately meant that it was pretty easy to get around them.

Deciding to take a quick break, he went to grab some water from the lake.

As he sat next to the water, he couldn't help but let his mind and hand wander to the headband covering his right eye. Before he knew it, Naruto was sliding the headband up and off his head. As soon as he opened his new eye he experienced a sense of vertigo and a heavy increase of the drain on his chakra. It was odd seeing with two different sets of vision. In fact, it was even starting to give him a bit of a headache. He could only imagine it would get worse moving at combat speeds. He absently noted that he needed to fix that time limit and sense of sickness.

The Sharingan's vision was also interesting. Looking around he could see the most minute of details, each blade of grass and each leaf, stem and all, on a tree 30 feet from him. Glancing at his arm, he could see the minute twitches his muscles made. So that was probably how the Uchiha could predict movements, interesting.

The blonde slowly went through the seals for the _**Doton Bunshin**_ and watched with fascination as he could see how the chakra flowed from his body and hands to form the Jutsu. The ability to see chakra like that would be perfect to analyze techniques more easily in detail to not only copy, but also to potentially find flaws in a technique.

While that was fascinating, that couldn't be all there was to the copying ability the Sharingan was revered for. To merely see how the chakra flowed to the technique would not be enough to let the Sharingan copy techniques. If that was how it worked, then the Hyuuga's Byakugan would be able to do the same thing, probably even better.

So what, exactly, let the Sharingan copy techniques? It was a question he suspected few had asked, or at least few had seriously contemplated. He liked to do that, after all, knowing how something worked was the first step to learning how to counter it.

Naruto glanced at the clone he had made. Perhaps he could find something out about the copying ability by copying movements from his clone? He then gave his clone meticulously detailed orders to follow a pattern of movement he had once seen an odd green spandex clad Jonin perform.

After he relayed the instructions - it took five minutes - he followed the movements with his Sharingan. After the clone had finished the simple grapple, he started into the movement.

To his astonishment, after he had started into it, his body began to move as if it had practiced this maneuver before rather than only watching it. Did the Sharingan somehow transpose a movement into muscle memory, and most probably the chakra equivalent for Jutsu? That was very interesting.

However, he noticed that as he had done the grapple, he may have been able to perform it like he had practiced it before, but it still felt foreign to his body. So that meant even with the Sharingan he would have to practice to get used to the movements. Regardless of that, it would still speed up the process of training significantly.

As he was thinking, his eyes wandered to his reflection. The boy trailed his eyes down his oddly colored hair to his now scarred face and his eyes promptly widened slightly in shock as he locked gazes with his reflection.

There were two tomoe in his Sharingan. He knew the Sandaime was a staunch advocate of hard work and would not condone to implanting an eye that was already partially developed. The man would have insisted he only be allowed an eye with only a single tomoe.

His having two meant that something caused it to evolve when implanted. He quickly went through all the information he knew about what made the Sharingan evolve. It wasn't much - the Uchiha were very secretive - but he did know that they tended to evolve under high stress situations, emotional distress, and extreme training.

He hadn't experienced any of those recently - or almost ever for that matter aside from the training part - so what had happened to make it evolve?

If it evolved without any of those things, then it must be something associated with all of them. So what did all of those things have in common? It had to be a byproduct of those situations, so what did the body do under those circumstances.

One thing immediately came to his mind. Adrenaline. When under vast amounts of stress or training extensively the body released adrenaline hormones to speed up thought process, reaction time, etc.

That didn't make much sense though, while adrenaline may affect the senses to an extent, it shouldn't be linked to a thing such as the Sharingan's evolution.

So what else came with intense emotion? He thought back to the feelings he had one of the few times he had experienced intense emotions. He blocked out the memories of what happened and focused on what he felt. Never again would he remember what happened.

In his mind's eye he remembered pain, so much pain. He remembered confusion, a smaller part. He remembered hate, the burning inferno that it raged, greater than any he had felt before or after. He remembered his pride being tested, his will to not yell out and cry in pain, to let the fools be satisfied with hearing his pain. He remembered a great sadness from the loss he endured.

He remembered so many other inconsequential and small emotions.

Finally he remembered the last feeling of that night. His first taste of power. His first taste of chakra. He remembered how his chakra exploded in an eruption of power and swirling emotions.

That had to be it! A massive influx of chakra caused its evolution, perhaps the hormones some intense emotions released played a role as well, but it had to primarily be that. The influx of chakra. Chakra, he remembered from his studies and limited experience, could surge and act oddly when one experienced intense emotions. It was why a civilian with no training could call on astonishing abilities - for a civilian - in necessary situations. A mother saving her child from being crushed by debris for example.

From what he had read and deduced, it could also increase a ninja's ability beyond their normal limits. There was a reason the saying 'An animal is at its most dangerous when cornered,' was applied to humans despite most humans not identifying their species as animals. They were willing to do anything to escape in addition to seemingly getting a surge of strength.

Regardless, that had to be it. A massive influx in chakra caused the Sharingan to evolve. He may not be able to sense chakra levels well, but he did know that he had more chakra than any of the Uchiha with only one tomoe in one of their eyes. The more experienced one may have matched or surpassed him, but that was irrelevant.

That was why it normally took so long to evolve the Sharingan regardless of how many emotionally taxing situations one was in. There was a limit to how much chakra could surge with emotions alone. The person had to take time to grow and mature in their chakra capacity before they could handle the next level. Perhaps high stress situations merely sped the process in some way.

Naruto was suddenly hit with a wave of drowsiness in addition to the vertigo he was already experiencing due to the split perception. He quickly covered his Sharingan hoping to prevent any more adverse affects.

He took notice that his breathing was now a bit labored, as if he had been under somewhat intense exercise. Not only that, his body itself felt like it was tired, but he knew he could move almost as easily as if he was fresh. It was an odd feeling to be sure.

Perhaps the unnatural addition of the Sharingan made his chakra system react awkwardly and thus his body feeling so odd despite having not done anything physically draining. It seemed he had underestimated just how taxing it would be to use the Sharingan. Hopefully with experience it would lessen.

After some time to rest he spent a few hours honing the _Doton Bunshin no Jutsu_ and elaborately wording his instructions to the clone he would use to fool the ANBU. Once he was confident that there wouldn't be any terrible mishaps, he poked his head out from the barrier seals hiding this place and gave the clone his consent to start his 'mission'.

The ANBU were too relieved to notice too much of a difference, if they did, they didn't care or dismissed it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

" _Many things are good in moderation, but anything, especially good things, can become a problem if followed obsessively." - Hatake Sakumo_

* * *

Hello again, back with another chapter. This one is shorter than my previous ones and will probably be just a few hundred words shy of what my typical chapters will be in the future. Any feedback/questions are welcomed. And thank you to everyone who has commented. One last thing, I plan for this to be a massive and already have about 10 more chapters written (though all of them need heavy editing), so it will be awhile until the crossovers pop up. I hope you all enjoyed.


	5. Chapter 5

"' _It's impossible,' said pride. 'It's risky,' said experience. 'It's pointless,' said reason. 'Give it a try,' whispered the heart." - Unknown_

* * *

It had been a month since the day the four Uchiha were executed and the village had settled mostly, but there was still an easily detectable atmosphere of tension when anything about it was brought up.

Since then, the Hokage had been swamped with complaints and letters of outrage that were only stopping now. Though the reason for that was more a result of the civilian council of representatives overstepping their boundaries and Sarutobi's patience than all the heat from the execution dying down. The exact cause of Sarutobi unleashing a sliver of his rage was unknown to most, the only common knowledge being the civilian council was responsible.

Itachi, however had managed to piece the story together, both from some minor gossip by his fellow ANBU and his father's murmurs later that day. Some fool had the audacity to threaten to have Sarutobi replaced, likely in a misguided attempt to gain favor with the Uchiha. The reaction that had provoked scared the entire village for a scant few seconds before their mortal God had reigned himself in. Those few seconds, however, were plenty to remind the village just why he had both successfully lead for so many decades and why he had earned the title of God of Shinobi.

Itachi could only remember one instance that topped such a fury from the Sandaime - the day the Kyuubi had attacked. The God in human skin had then proceeded to give the equivalent to a bitch slap to the Great Beast with his partner, Monkey King Enma, in his staff form and stall it long enough for the Yondaime to prepare to seal it.

Needless to say, those with complaints shut their mouths.

Many of the more powerful and experienced shinobi, Itachi had noticed, barely held in their raucous laughter. It seemed they hated the complaints and outlandish criticisms to their God the villagers had been voicing as well.

Currently the teen was preparing for the first lesson he would give Naruto. The month he had demanded be used to adapt to the drain on his reserves had come and gone. With it came both an eagerness and dread to Itachi. On the one hand, he would be getting a new experience in teaching a young boy who had no one he could consistently rely on. On the other, he was condoning, however tangentially, that he approved of putting children down the path of soldiers, regardless of it just being the sharingan.

He was starting his walk towards the blonde's apartment when he noticed a hawk flying above him. He frowned in thought. 'Why would the Hokage be calling me? He knows today is the first time I planned on instructing Naruto,' Itachi supposed he would find out when he saw the Sandaime, so without wasting a moment, the prodigy set off towards the Hokage Tower.

Once the teen arrived, he was greeted by a few brown nosers as well as some polite colleagues. He ignored them all, only giving periodic nods. After that annoying experience, he entered the Hokage's office to see Sarutobi doing paperwork and smoking his pipe, looking the very picture of the old, strong man he was.

The Professor didn't even look up as he entered, merely motioning for him to take a seat. He did as gestured and idly noticed there were no ANBU guards in the room as there was normally. It was unusual, though he supposed discussing a topic such as Naruto, particularly his training of the boy, was something that was best kept under wraps.

The silence only lasted half a minute more before the Hokage's grandfatherly voice swept over him, "How are you doing Itachi-kun? I hope the uproar of that unfortunate incident last month hasn't caused you any trouble within your clan."

Perhaps the old man wanted a personal opinion on how the clan was taking things? Such a thing seemed plausible save for the timing of his being called. He answered regardless, "I am doing well Hokage-sama, thank you for your concern. Many are still upset over the loss of family, but have gotten over it for the most part. May I ask what you called me here for? I was just heading over to give Naruto his first lesson."

The old man sighed in weariness and turned to gaze out the window overlooking the village, letting the silence ring for a few seconds before replying, "You know, Itachi-kun, I love this village very much, and it breaks my heart to see its inhabitants treat one of their own with such disdain." He paused to take a breath and puff his pipe. "That is why I am going to assign you a mission I'd like you to be discreet about. Train Naruto. Not just briefly in the Sharingan, but also in the other facets of the shinobi arts. Teach him kindness and forgiveness, to not strike back in malicious vengeance, but to disable and leave in peace."

Itachi opened his eyes a bit wider in surprise. He hadn't expected the Hokage to ask for him to legitimately teach Naruto, though he wasn't entirely opposed to the idea. "Why do you want Naruto to be taught now, Hokage-sama? With how you've handled his situation thus far I assumed you would prefer he follow the typical path orphaned children do."

The man grimaced, "I have realized now that I have been too optimistic, foolishly so. I thought that I could give Naruto a normal childhood, but now that this has happened, the delusions I had convinced myself to believe up to this point, if only barely, have shattered, replaced by the cruel truth I know to be true for all known Jinchuriki - they can never lead a normal life. He needs to be able to protect himself from threats in and out of the village." His eyes strayed briefly to the Yondaime before snapping back to the village. In the privacy of his thoughts Sarutobi thought: 'I'm sorry I couldn't protect your child Minato.'

Itachi caught the brief gaze at the fourth, if only barely. He said nothing about it, knowing it was none of his business. He merely made note of it as it confirmed his suspicions of who the boy's parents were. Itachi turned his gaze from the Yondaime's picture back to Sarutobi's back, "I accept the mission Hokage-sama. How long and often shall I train him?"

Sarutobi felt the faintest of smiles tug at his lips. Itachi was always reliable - easily a candidate for Hokage when he retired - hopefully just shy of a decade to let the boy really blossom. "I would like you to train him at least two or three times a week and any time frame you feel would be appropriate for the boy. You can adjust the time as you see fit. Of course this will all be done in secret."

"Of course Hokage-sama. Anything else?"

"Yes, one final thing before you go. If you find there is an area you are lacking in knowledge, would like a second opinion, or are going to be gone for a long period of time you may choose another to help. I believe you are a good judge of character, so you can pick who you like, but run it by me so I'm aware of it," Hiruzen took another puff of his pipe as he turned to face the boy again.

"I see. Thank you for your trust Hokage-sama," Itachi said as his thoughts turned to who he might bring in under extenuating circumstances.

"Dismissed."

With that, Itachi walked out the door and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

He was not around when the secretary looked over to the mess of leaves as she grumbled unhappily to herself, "Damn lazy ninja always leaving a mess for me to clean. Can't they at least have the decency to walk outside before they do that?"

Sarutobi heard her and had to suppress his amused chuckles as he went back to his most dreaded adversary that he had battled continuously for the past eight years.

 _Paperwork._

* * *

It was barely another minute before Itachi reached Naruto's apartment. It was still fairly early, so Naruto should still be here.

As he arrived, he felt one of the interchanging squads of ANBU that were to guard Naruto. Giving the correct hand signs to be let passed without being attacked, Itachi made his way towards Naruto's door.

Looking to the walls of the apartment building on his way up, he saw a number of awful things on the wall. It was disgusting how creative and forward people could be in showing their hate when few would reprimand them. It must be incredibly hard on the boy's mind to endure seeing those types of messages.

As he saw all these insults, he also took note of the deplorable conditions the boy was living in. Having been a shinobi for some time now, he had seen people living in awful conditions far worse than this, however it wasn't the kind of thing he had expected in Konoha. He had seen some in Konoha who had it pretty bad as well, but most who did had friends to rely on. Plus almost none of them were orphaned children who had to fend for themselves and none of those had to live with such scorn from the village.

With each detail he learned about the enigma that was Uzumaki Naruto, Itachi got a clearer idea of just who Uzumaki Naruto really was buried under all that faked cheer. Arriving at an especially vandalized door, he took notice of how it seemed to have rotted a bit, seemingly having not been taken care of in years.

Itachi gave a careful knock so as to not damage the door. From inside he heard some scrambling and a small crash followed by some light cursing. 'He sure has a colorful vocabulary for an eight year old,' Itachi thought to himself, 'Probably a side effect of living in the Red Light District,' he rationalized.

After a few more seconds, Itachi saw the door crack open a crack and an eye the color of the deepest depths of oceans peek out. As soon as the eye took in his features, the body it was attached to immediately pulled the door open to greet him, "Itachi! Are we finally going to train?" His voice was giddy with excitement.

Itachi gave a quick nod before kindly asking in return, "Naruto, have you had breakfast yet?" A grumble of a stomach followed by a sheepish expression was his answer. "I see. May I come in? I shall wait for you to finish before we head out."

Itachi noticed the boy adopted a nervous expression before reluctantly letting him inside. Glancing around as Naruto went to the kitchen, Itachi took notice of the predictable mess in the apartment.

Clothes on the floor, an old package of ramen lying discarded on the floor, some dirty dishes piled in the sink, and - Itachi blinked and had to do a double take. There was a hole in the wall just big enough for a child to slip through to the adjacent apartment in addition to a few slashes in the wall he recognized as being due to kunai or a tanto. That was somewhat concerning but not an immediate problem he could address. Aside from that, the apartment looked like what one would expect of an eight year old who lived alone.

As he looked around more however, Itachi couldn't shake the feeling that something was off aside from the concerning marks in the wall. It looked like what he had suspected, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that made it seem almost too perfect. Almost like it was a sort of planned mess rather than a result of negligance.

That didn't make any sense to Itachi. There would be no reason for a child to purposely plant a mess. 'Hmm, perhaps being in ANBU and dealing with clan politics are making me too paranoid,' While that was slightly concerning, sacrifices were sometimes necessary.

He cut off his contemplation as Naruto came back from the kitchen with an apple that looked to be going bad and a steaming instant ramen cup. He frowned, "Naruto, you know that is not a healthy meal, correct? And the apple is no longer entirely good to eat."

Naruto cast his head down to look at his feet and started to fidget a bit, "Um, actually Itachi..." there was a pause as the boy fidgeted and stuttered some more while trying to force words out before finally firming his voice and pushing it out in one go, "Ican'taffordanythingbetterandmostpeoplegivemefruitlikethisinsteadofthegoodstuff. It'salsocheaperandIcan'taffordmuch," following his explosive sentence Naruto heaved in a few deep breaths

Itachi had to take a few seconds to properly process the jumbled mess that Naruto had spewed before he suddenly felt shame and anger. To think that people were denying this boy even the most basic of human necessities. People could sink to despicable lows when drowned in their hatred.

Itachi plucked the rotten apple out of Naruto's hands and spoke, his voice authoritative, "From now on I want you to eat healthy. If you cannot get the food, then I shall get it for you. How much did this apple cost you?"

Naruto answered immediately, if somewhat subdued, "It cost me 20 ryo (10 ryo equals about 1 U.S. Dollar)."

Itachi's face remained impassive, but it grew a cold edge, 'He should've been able to get two pounds of apples for that much, not a single rotten one.'

"Naruto, that price was far too high to pay for this. If you ever need to buy anything else talk to me and I'll buy it for you."

Naruto gave a stubborn shake of his head with a hint of anger coating his features, "I know it was over priced, but the shopkeeper refused to sell at what it was labled at. And I don't need your charity, I can take care of myself."

Itachi felt a twitch of his lips. A prideful one, was he? Well that was fine, he could deal with some pride easily enough, "I don't mean to insult you Naruto. I merely meant that you can give me money to buy necessities for you. You'll need to eat well if you are to become strong."

Naruto's eyes seemed to spark with something before he reluctantly nodded his agreement, "I guess that's fine as long as you don't give me charity."

Itachi nodded to keep him pacified, "I will go get something suitable for you to eat and get a meal plan ready for you to follow later today. Now go get your money so we don't waste anymore time."

Naruto took on an expression of surprise and voiced his confusion, "I thought you were just going to give me some tips for," here he looked around as if looking for someone to suddenly jump out before continuing in a low and conspiring tone, "'that thing' that you were supposed to help me with, not become my nanny."

Itachi looked mildly amused at his faux whisper and responded, "Hokage-sama thought you could use a little company and I some experience with teaching." There was no need to tell the boy he was getting special training to protect himself. That could get him depressed or bloat his ego.

Naruto seemed to brighten marginally and with a quick "Okay," he went back into his apartment and brought out some money.

Itachi pocketed it and asked, "Do you know where training ground 31 is?" A nod was his answer. "Good, go there and wait for me. You can eat there."

With that, both took off to their destinations, Itachi via _**Shunshin**_ and Naruto on foot.

* * *

Naruto was intrigued.

While Itachi may have given a reason for the change in plans for what he was to be taught, the excuse was flimsy at best. Giving him some company was likely only a smaller reason within a larger scheme. An attempt to give him a friend attached to the village was something the Sandaime would do, but if he wanted to do that there were other people he should have tried first on account of his known mannerisms. While it would be difficult to find someone unbiased that was his age, it would most certainly not be impossible. Perhaps the Hokage wanted one of his own soldiers to make the connection that had a great deal of insight to attempt to get a better understanding of his actual state of mind. That was only mildly concerning though, he was reasonably confident he could misdirect any particularly harmful suspicion.

As for Itachi getting experience at teaching, that was only a slightly more solid reason. If he needed experience teaching, they could stick him in the academy.

Even disregarding any deeper plans the Sandaime may have wanted to try to implement through Itachi, it was plainly obvious to him that Hiruzen had rescinded or at least reevaluated how realistic it was for him to lead a normal life. While Naruto doubted the old man had gone too far in the opposite direction - that is to say make him into the living weapon Jinchuriki were destined to be everywhere else - Naruto felt Sarutobi wanted him to learn self-defense in light of his missing eye. Plus if the old man could claim he had someone training him, it would appease some of the more traditionalist people that might otherwise cause him trouble.

With his need to think any possible threat and implications of any situation presented to him satiated, he arrived at Training Ground 31.

Training Ground 31 was a spacious clearing surrounded by the giant trees so often associated with Konoha. Near the back of the circular clearing was a small river with slow flowing water. In addition, the side of the mountain that the Hokage's faces were carved in was close by, able to be seen through the trees to the left.

Within 30 seconds of his arrival, Itachi arrived in a swirl of leaves. His face showed the slightest amount of surprise at his being there. He must have been traveling faster than he thought if Itachi had expected to beat him here. Whoops. Hopefully that would only coerce Itachi into pushing him harder, faster so he wouldn't have to hold back a whole lot. This did serve as a welcome reminder to him to hold back.

Itachi was indeed surprised. He had used the _**Shunshin**_ to travel and while it wasn't too far of a run from the boy's apartment to the training ground, a normal kid would not have been fast enough to beat him here. It seemed the blonde had inherited his father's talent for speed. Though there had to have been a decent bit of exercise to get to that level regardless of what his genetics were like. Perhaps there was an ever so slight silver lining to the villagers chasing him and how hyper he seemed to be.

His thoughts on how he could be so fast were smashed to a grinding halt with the sound of a shout of amazement from Naruto. "That's so cool Itachi! How did you do that!? How did you get here so fast!? Can I learn it too?!"

He was, of course, just acting. He already knew the _**Shunshin**_ and while a useful technique for short distance travel, its uses in combat were limited at best. One of the few he knew of that could effectively and consistently use the technique in combat was Shisui Uchiha. While his proficiency in the technique had given him his moniker, the teen was only capable of it at his age through a combination of his Sharingan and a ludicrous amount of practice - he assumed at least.

Still, he had to act the part of an excited eight year old who hadn't seen what some minor applications of chakra could accomplish. It wouldn't do to blow his cover so easily by slipping up over something so simple. It would be an embarrassment.

Itachi gave a slight smile. "I will eventually teach you it, but we need to cover quite a few things before that. Here, this will be your breakfast for the next few days," saying so, he held out a bag filled with fruit, a carton of milk, and a box of cereal.

Naruto brightened his expression, "Thanks Itachi! This all looks really good!" and he was genuinely happy about the food. While he could get decent meals himself via stealing or even buying only slightly overpriced stuff underground (though that stuff wasn't particularly healthy either) it was more trouble than it was worth. Stealing attracted attention and while he was good, continued theft would eventually gain the kind of attention he couldn't reliably shake off. In addition to the underground being unhealthy, he didn't like paying for much at the Boss' place of operations. The man may give him some income and a way to polish his skills, but his condescending nature really pissed him off. Especially because he couldn't exactly do anything about it.

The only other way he got food was via hunting. And while he wouldn't mind hunting or scavenging food there were other ways he'd rather spend his time. Plus, Konoha had strict laws concerning the hunting of regular animals. They didn't want a few shinobi getting funny ideas to kill a bunch to sell parts to merchants or a bunch to feed themselves. The land could only recover from the kind of fast paced pillaging shinobi could inflict unless it was heavily moderated. He had the option to hunt in Forest of Death (he often did) however the life there was off in more ways than normal for chakra contaminated beasts. It was best to figure out if it was safe to eat through testing first.

Once he finished, Itachi spoke, "Take off your headband, I'd like you to tell me how it feels to see now."

Naruto nodded and quickly threw his headband off to the side. Once he revealed his eye, Itachi showed the slightest amount of surprise. 'How does he have two tomoe already? Even if he tried to train on his own evolving a sharingan is no small feat. Barring the eye being on the verge of it beforehand that shouldn't be possible. And even then I have my doubts over whether that would transfer over in a transplant.'

Itachi decided to ask Naruto, "Naruto have you taken that headband off this month?"

Naruto looked a little sheepish as he answered, "Well I did a couple of times because I wanted to see how it looked. I promise I only did it in my house! Though it is still really weird to have both eyes open, I get really dizzy. Sorry." He ended in a meek tone to get Itachi off his back.

Itachi gave a sigh. At least it seemed he only used it in the privacy of his home - bathroom most likely. And even if any of his temporary escort saw it, everyone in ANBU was professional enough to not ask questions or to at least keep them confidential. Still he had to at leas t scold him a little, "That's alright Naruto, but from now on don't do things I tell you not to do. It is for your own health whether you realize it or not. Now, how long was the longest you kept it out and how did you feel by the end of it?"

Naruto saw this as a chance to accelerate past the boring training he may have to endure if he said he had obeyed and jumped on it, "Ah, probably about 10 minutes and I felt pretty tired after that," Naruto answered, keeping to most of the truth for now. He didn't know how good Itachi was at picking up on lying and for relatively innocent stuff like this it should good to test the waters. His only misdirection was his vague wording of being tired. His chakra was quite drained from it, but his exhaustion more came from the double vision and even with both of those he could function for a few hours after.

Itachi merely blinked in place of showing any astonishment, 'Incredible. To be able to go that long when not an Uchiha and especially at his age... He must have utterly monstrous reserves because of the Kyuubi.' Itachi almost shivered at the thought of what his reserves would be like when he matured. Of course it would be hell to get a reasonable amount of control over those kind of reserves. Perhaps he should start with that then. "Alright Naruto, I just wanted to see how you felt about your vision. You can keep trying to see better with both eyes if you stay in your bathroom or bedroom, just make sure you don't overexert yourself. You can put the headband back on now. Before I start teaching you about the sharingan I will teach you some of the basics of the shinobi arts. "

Naruto nodded obediently, though he showed a small amount of annoyance appropriate for a somewhat rebellious eight year old.

As Itachi eyed the boy while he put his headband on, a thought came unbidden to him. This boy had lived his entire life without anyone to instill anything in him, least of all hope for a better future. Perhaps he could instill a bit of optimism in the boy. He seemed willing enough to listen. "Before we start I will give you a piece of advice that you should apply to all of your life," he paused to make sure he had Naruto's undivided attention. "Never give up no matter how impossible something may seem. If you truly believe in what you seek and try hard enough, even an ant may one day be able move a mountain."

Naruto looked up at Itachi inquisitively, "If it's impossible, then why would that change if you believe in it?" Naruto had a similar philosophy of don't stop trying if something seems impossible created through his experiences, but that was because he had done what had been deemed impossible by others before. Of course he also hated when something was called impossible or people said he couldn't do something. His pride demanded that he prove them wrong. The way Itachi phrased it showed he had a different, more optimistic view. As an after thought Naruto looked at Itachi with a look halfway between a pout and a glare as he whined "And did you just compare me to an ant?"

Itachi smiled and raised his hand in an attempt to appease the boy, "It was just an expression. And it wasn't meant to be an insult regardless," he then lowered his hands and met Naruto's eyes, his usual seriousness returning with a hint of nostalgia, "I will tell you a saying that I once read when looking into why various prominent figures in history strove for what seemed to be such impossible things for the time. In one of my studies I came across this saying that the author quoted - '' _It's impossible,' said pride. 'It's risky,' said experience. 'It's pointless,' said reason. 'Give it a try,' whispered the heart._ ' It is unknown who first said it, but I believe it fits with the actions of many of the greats in history. As such, I decided to live by similar values at times when I feel a great burden on my shoulders. Not only have I achieved some great things that only my heart said could be possible but keeping that quote in mind has lessened my stress."

Naruto kept his gaze locked with Itachi. He didn't know whether to respect him or think him foolish. True, emotion - or heart - could temporarily increase one's abilities, but he disagreed with another part of that saying. Whoever had said that obviously didn't have much pride if it allowed them to so easily coin something impossible. That being said, Itachi didn't seem the type of person to easily disregard reason or experience just due to his emotions. Overall, he decided he would respect Itachi a bit more as he was obviously not overly reliant on that heart, and he could respect a person with drive even if he didn't understand why that heart would give them such. Itachi was also very skilled, perhaps with even more potential than what Kakashi had shown when he was young from what he had observed.

With a nod from Naruto, Itachi started him out on some basic exercises to measure the base he was working with while he planned what to incorporate into this training in the future.

* * *

A few hours it was getting to be around lunch time and Itachi was suitably impressed with Naruto's ludicrous stamina. Privately he thought no one outside of Jinchuuriki had that kind of natural stamina, and even in Jinchuuriki, as little as Itachi knew about them, didn't tend to have that much stamina at this age without a decent bit of training. Then again, he was also an Uzumaki, so he was practically born a stamina freak.

"Naruto," Itachi called and the blonde turned to him, "it's time for lunch, would you like to go somewhere to eat?"

Naruto reacted with a bright smile and enthusiastically dragging him towards the village. While it was nice to see such enthusiasm, it wouldn't do for the prodigy of the Uchiha to be seen with the pariah of Konoha who had just been piled with even more scorn because of the Uchiha who were executed. It would just cause too many headaches.

Itachi stopped Naruto, who looked back at him with a questioning expression. "I need to change into someone else because people might not take it well if they saw me with you because of who I am," Itachi explained apologetically. Usually Itachi wouldn't be so blunt - clan politics required delicate wording and quite a few ninja, especially the ANBU, liked to play word games - but Naruto seemed to like blunt even if the boy seemed quite capable of picking up on the underlying meaning of things. He didn't want to offend the boy by lying or playing the guessing games some other shinobi liked to play. Besides that, the Uchiha could quite clearly see the intelligence in those blue eyes. Naruto was perfectly aware of how he was viewed and at least some of the ramifications of others being associated with him.

Naruto merely nodded in acceptance and closed himself off a bit more. Well, it was better a bit of a closed off attitude than having to deal with what people would do if he were to not take on a disguise. He chose a nondescript middle aged man that could be easily confused for another person.

That done, they continued on into the village. As the blonde led him, Itachi took notice of all the hostile looks they were garnering. Was this what the boy had been dealing with alone for all his life? Itachi glanced down at Naruto, 'If he deals with this much hardship everyday and still pushes forward, he is even more incredible than people say I am.'

Naruto, meanwhile, was curious about all the hostile stares. He was by no means unused to such stares but they were in an unusually high concentration. It was right from the start as well so it wasn't because they knew the ANBU were absent, it was because he had a companion. Though no ANBU showing themselves to scare them off subconsciously encouraged it, he was sure.

A subtle prodding brought his attention to Itachi who nodded to the glares a question of whether it was normal in his eyes. He just shook his head, putting his thumb down and motioning to him to indicate it was the other teens presence that was causing this. Middle-aged-Itachi-but-not-really nodded and went back to looking around innocently.

Only now, people started to turn away, some visibly shivering. Naruto blinked, deciding to not address it. Though he privately thought Itachi had some impressively discreet killing intent. He could barely even detect it when actively searching for it. Within a few short minutes of that, they were at the place Naruto chose. Ichiraku Ramen, Itachi idly noticed. If he remembered correctly, this was the place that the boy's mother frequented. How fitting.

With a cheerful exchange of greetings between the boy, the owner, and his daughter, Itachi concluded this was likely one of the only places the pariah was welcome. After the greetings he payed more attention to what the ramen stall owner said. "Make a new friend, did you, Naruto?"

With an impossibly wide smile he answered, "Yep, he's really nice and is really helping me out!"

It seemed Naruto did have a sense of subtlety outside of pranks after all if he at least had the sense to be vague.

The old chef turned to him and with a jovial tone asked, "Well young man, what can I get you?"

Itachi quickly scanned the menu and decided upon something that might at least have mildly more nutritional value than typical ramen, "Vegetable ramen please."

With a nod the chef turned around to get started on their orders of ramen. Itachi also noticed that Naruto was occupied with talking to the girl and the old ramen owner, as if they were old friends.

With his charge distracted, Itachi's mind took a turn to what Sarutobi-sama had told him about training Naruto. Ramen seemed to be the boy's favored food, likely because he was welcomed at this stand, but unfortunately ramen was pretty far down on nutritional value. If he were to properly train Naruto, he would have to give him a nutritional plan that would only give ramen as a treat and not a staple of his diet.

Thus the Uchiha mentally began preparing a diet for Naruto even as his mind started to shift to other parts of what Naruto's training would be. Some basic exercises that he would have to adjust to the limits of an Uzumaki Jinchuuriki hybrid was first on his list. Perhaps while doing that he could incorporate chakra control exercises. People normally wouldn't start with those exercises until they some decent physical training, but Naruto already seemed to be in extraordinary shape, and it would be a nightmare to get his control up to par without starting him off early.

Deciding to deal with anything else that came up during training at a later date, he returned his attention to Naruto. It seemed the boy was enjoying himself. It was a nice change of pace from how he seemed to typically be treated. It also gave Itachi hope for the people of his village, perhaps in time they could treat Naruto as these two did.

The smell of ramen got even heavier as the chef turned with two bowls in hand. "Enjoy!" Itachi gave a nod along with Naruto and gave a quick Itadakimasu before breaking apart the chopsticks and digging into the meal.

Itachi followed his lead, though with a more subdued pace. He found it surprisingly good for such a cheap and unhealthy food. Most definitely not better than pocky, but what was? Speaking of which he should really pick some up on his way home…

It wasn't long before both their bowls were empty and they said their goodbyes with the owners.

Naruto was fairly satisfied with the morning's results. First he got an instructor who wasn't incompetent and wasn't childish like many of their age were by way of taking rumors about him at face value. As an added bonus, Itachi was looking to be a competent teacher.

Unfortunately he was also quite loyal to the village. The very qualities he liked about the Uchiha - his acute observation and not letting his judgement be very impaired by rumors and gossip - were being employed against him. Any other time it would be refreshing to see someone like that, but now it just became easier to be discovered. This was just another challenge to overcome.

Another plus was that he had gotten free ramen. While not his favorite food on account of it being so unhealthy, it was still near the top of his list. He ignored the fact that the variety of things he had eaten was quite short and usually consisted of mediocre meals at best.

When he saw they were heading to his apartment, he found himself relieved. He had other things he wanted to do that didn't involve faking his way through a training regiment with an eagle-eyed instructor. One of which was to have Sakumo pick out any holes in his act so said eagle-eyed instructor didn't become too suspicious.

Itachi sent a small smile at the boy and decided to give a rough outline of his dietary plan, "Naruto, I will get you the food I'm going to require you to eat for your new diet. I'll drop off this week's supply later tonight," seeing the boy about to protest, he continued, "You can pay me back then if you insist. Rest for now and I'll come get you for our next session soon."

Naruto smiled and spoke in a grateful tone, "Thanks, Itachi. You're one of the few who have been nice to me," then in a more jovial tone, though tinted with exhaustion said, "I hope you come again soon." With that he shut the door and went towards his bedroom, maneuvering through the mess on his way there. It ticked him off quite a bit that he had to be so messy to fit his predetermined profile, but he couldn't do a whole lot about it for now. He was a bit of a neat freak, it was just so much more satisfying and convenient when things were in a place that could be easily reached. He didn't understand how some people could be so messy.

'Then again, I don't really conform to most 'normal' human behavior, not that I really want to anyway. It's only real use would be to predict other people. Besides, 'normal' people are boring, cruel, and waste their lives away only to be forgotten in the sands of time. I won't be just another grain of sand to be forgotten. The _world itself_ will remember me,' Naruto thought with resolution.

Needless to say, Naruto's opinion of humanity was quite low. Of course he didn't much care if he was remembered by most humans - the majority were painfully weak after all - but he resolved to be remembered by the world itself and any possible greater powers. To be a mortal who rose to fame (or infamy, he wasn't picky) among so-called Gods, that would be something of worth to accomplish.

Ninja normally discounted Gods or higher powers like that. It was easier to keep a clean work ethic that way. After all, if the average shinobi believed the work they did would send them to eternal damnation, no-one would become one. Naruto, on the other hand, tended to move in his own direction rather than that of the norm. His view on the topic of Gods and other higher beings was no different.

Though he had not delved much into the subject of religion, he believed that his 'fate' so to speak was not controlled by some god planning his every move. Influence? Yes. Humans could do that as well - and often did - but control completely, no.

He also did not believe explicitly that these so called gods existed as he had yet to see any proof, but unlike many other ninja and warriors, he did not discard the possibility of them entirely because of it. After all, no matter how absurd, there was always some truth as to how a person perceived an event in even the most wild of rumors. Naruto reasoned why not apply that to these gods some people believed in, there might be a shred of truth in those texts that each religion had. He would just have to study them and see for himself.

It wasn't that far-fetched. Peasants who lived in towns isolated from major trade routes were known to look at shinobi as Gods or Demons. Their perspective was limited, so they'd never seen someone perform feats chakra gifted people. The same could be said about typical shinobi of the past worshiping or crowning someone with a unique bloodline. If that could happen, who's to say that his perspective wasn't limited.

Regarding their texts, a few beasts described in some religions had been documented. Not thoroughly, but reliable sources had claimed a rare few fantastic beasts that couldn't entirely be accepted as being due to chakra radiation. There were even a rare few archaeological digs that had come up with structures that seemed to have relation to some God or myth that wasn't just a temple or a broken part of a structure from the Old World. In Naruto's mind, it wasn't too far of a stretch that more of those texts could be true.

Those were subjects to explore when he had more resources. Now he had to focus on improving himself. No one was going to help him escape the chains he was restricted by.

As he entered his bedroom, he set to fumbling around for a few minutes before he entered the bathroom connected to his bedroom. As he got there, he stripped himself of his shirt and headband. Opening his right eye, he examined himself in the mirror.

The difference in perception was far more manageable than when he had first tried it out. Certainly not up to combat standards, but better nonetheless.

The blonde dispelled the genjutsu on his hair and raked his eyes over his body, taking in everything. His hair was now shoulder length instead of its usual style that merely stuck up a bit and was only a touch longer than normal. It was also slightly more tame, laying a half inch lower than how it normally would. His hair had also taken on more red to the tips.

It was a decidedly curious sight. If he were to grow more red hair, it would stand to reason that it would be at the roots, not the tips. He hadn't the faintest clue as to why it behaved this way. The only flimsy theory he had was that it had something to do with chakra, possibly the amount he used it. Maybe it was indirectly related to the Uzumaki blood running in his veins. Chakra was known to do some bizarre things. The fact that the Uzumaki apparently were all redheads gave a tiny piece of credence to it.

Moving on, Naruto turned his attention to his face. He ran his finger along the scar that now decorated his face and scowled ever so slightly. This was a reminder of his _weakness_ , of his _arrogance._ Sakumo had warned him that arrogance had taken many lives and to temper his own. He had tried, thought he had mostly succeeded even. He was level headed, determined, and more aware than his peers. One of the few flaws relating to arrogance he recognized was his inward condescension of his peers. He felt it wouldn't affect him at the present, so he had mostly push it under the rug. Seeing how all the children of the village ran around with barely any sense made it hard not to feel condescending, after all.

He had known that he would be hurt, but his pride had demanded that he not run, only enforced by his desire to not expose anything incriminating. It was a sensible move. Perhaps he could have escaped had he not panicked or wasted time on insulting them. Both points he recognized as something he could minimize. Panicking was one of the greatest killers in any combatant's career. He might've even been able to get the jump on them and kill them if he had played his cards right. They were underestimating him from the start, even the experienced one.

The deaths would certainly attract a lot of attention, but he would be practically a non-factor in any investigation. He was decent at covering his tracks, enough that if he wasn't a suspect (and he wouldn't be, no one expected a child like him to be in the forest so late at night), it was highly unlikely anyone would be the wiser. It would have also put the Uchiha on alert, but what would they do with no proof? Claim that he had done it with trumped up evidence? Very few would believe a child no one in the village was willing to teach could kill four trained shinobi. Especially considering how they would put them in the same place. The powerful clan would have started looking highly suspicious very fast.

Regardless of the 'what ifs,' he would have to learn to rein in his pride so that he wouldn't make a similarly foolish mistake. Largely so that those repulsive cretins couldn't mar his flesh further.

Still, his greed continued to reminded him what had come from that event. Not just a new pinwheel eye, but also the deaths of the fools who attacked him. It was unfortunate he couldn't witness the execution; nonetheless, just knowing he obtained a Sharingan eye by way of it being ripped from one of those worms sent a pleasant shiver up his spine. Only mostly due to his determination to put it to better use than said worm ever could have.

Naruto ruthlessly crushed that part of his mind and reminded himself that it was through luck and _only_ luck that he had acquired the Sharingan. It was a dangerous and foolish game to rely on luck.

Looking objectively at his actions, he was forced to see the result of his errors and would work to negate the aspects that had caused the incident. Finally moving his mind past his most recent failure, his eyes moved from his face to his chest. It was well defined for any eight year old, let alone a malnourished. Obviously, there were no real signs of muscle as he was still young. There were a few small scars from training that had healed well enough to give a deceptive impression as to how large the original wounds had been; however, there was a singular large and noticeable scar on his chest, directly over his heart.

He had been branded by some imbecile in one of the very few riots he had been the targeted. The moron thought it would temper or drown his spirit in despair. In Kanji, on darkened skin, it read 'Monster'. Humans had such illogical reactions to the unknown. If he actually were the fox then why would he feel insulted by being called a monster? People could be some of the most idiotic creatures and the most intelligent. It was paradoxical. Animals were so much easier to understand.

That didn't stop the rage from growing as he stared at it. Against his will, flashes of memories came to his mind before he shut those out once more. His rage only burned stronger. They would feel his wrath in time. For now he would bide his time. When he was strong enough he would strike back.

With these dark thoughts, he dressed himself and moved back to his room. Jumping onto his bed and crawling to the edge, he reached the wall and tapped a pattern similar to what he had to do to get to the Boss' place. When he finished, there was a slight wavering of the wall before it revealed a dark slide.

He ran through the hand signs for the _**Doton Bunshin**_ and ordered it to stay in his bed. As he slid down the slide, one thought ran through his mind as he let a slight smirk grace his face, 'I love Fuinjutsu!'

As he left, the wall shimmered again and returned to its original state with no one the wiser.

* * *

Itachi left Naruto's apartment in contemplation.

The boy was not what he had expected at all. He had read the bi-monthly psych reports the boy had been getting since he was five and he knew not to trust the rumors surrounding the boy, but even then, the boy was a surprise. It wasn't just his astonishing physical capability or the confirmation of how relatively good Naruto seemed to be in mental stability. It was his attitude - he didn't complain about any of the training, light as it may have been. It was still a rather lengthy session and most children got impatient, bored, or gave up quickly. Most people twice his age and sometimes more would complain during a session that long if they hadn't trained to be a shinobi or a standing army. Naruto even seemed desperate to learn anything he could.

It was a pleasant change of pace. There weren't many his age that would be eager to train and capable of it for that length of time. Children tended to not be able to focus much and wanted to play instead of train. Barring clan kids, the typical person who chose to be ninja during peace time tended to only really get serious about their training at around 12-16. Even then, few (including clan children) went at it with the fervor Naruto had. If this continued, Naruto's potential was scary.

The only person in recent memory he could think of whom had a similar mindset around that age was himself. And that was only because he had seen the horrors of war first hand when his father had taken him to the aftermath of a battle to prepare him for the future - it had shattered any innocence he had left and forced him to grow up quickly.

That Naruto had grown in a time of relative peace, yet still developed that kind of mindset spoke volumes of the discrimination he faced. With the kind of potential he had, he could become a great asset to the village or one of its greatest traitor. He didn't want to view a child as a threat, but the reality of the situation was thus - the village had harassed the boy greatly - occasionally even to the point of torture. That would leave deep scars. Scars that would never heal completely and something that could easily lead to his betrayal.

Itachi knew his village wasn't perfect, but he loved it all the same. He would do his best to make sure Naruto wouldn't want to betray the village, but if it came down to it, he resolved to take out the threat he presented.

Itachi paused in his walk to the Hokage Tower as something occurred to him about having to eliminate Naruto. Naruto was the vessel of the Kyuubi, something that kept the balance between the nations. If they were to lose Naruto and it was revealed that he was their Jinchuuriki, another war could easily break out. With that disturbing thought in mind, he barely kept himself from keeping the same pace as he went to give the Hokage his report.

He felt the presence of the ANBU guard leave as he entered and the Hokage's wizened face turned up to him from his paperwork, the old man's faithful pipe hanging loosely from his mouth, spilling cancerous fumes. "Well, what do you think of Naruto-kun?"

Itachi answered without hesitation, "He has incredible potential and doesn't complain about training at all. I find that unlikely to change about him. I even see some of myself in him. Given time he will almost certainly surpass me," he paused here to take in the Hokage's saddened, yet proud expression before he continued, "I also think he may be a security risk with how withdrawn he is from the rest of the village. I will try my best to change his opinion of the village, but I don't know just how much damage the village has done."

Sarutobi took on a look of contemplation as he stroked his beard and puffed his pipe. Itachi always gave to the point reports, rarely, if ever, letting them be tainted by his own opinion. The fact that he saw himself in the boy meant the young Uchiha had noticed the mask the blonde put up in addition to confirming his potential, as expected. He had never dug too deeply under Naruto's mask as he wanted to let the boy have some privacy, but from his observations he noticed Naruto had quite the intelligence and anger within him. The intelligence was just as unsettling as the anger. It was similar to the type of intelligence Tobirama-sensei's eyes held - a disturbing thing to see intelligence transformed into during a time of peace.

Luckily, the anger he saw seemed to be directed and not an entirely all encompassing rage toward Konoha. The old leader hoped he hadn't misread Naruto. If he hadn't, there was a much greater chance of success of getting Naruto to become a willing shinobi of Konoha. He didn't like to think like this about a child, but he was a leader and that entailed making tough decisions. This child would and was be a very important part of their military strength, they couldn't afford to lose him.

With that in mind, he gave his orders, "Attempt to get him to at least be willing to work for Konoha. If you find that it is completely helpless in trying to get him to not hate Konoha, then bring him to me."

The unspoken 'I will remove the Kyuubi from him' was heard all too clearly to Itachi. There was no one who had survived the extraction of a Bijuu for long after the extraction. The Uchiha barely let his discomfort for that order show as he showed his compliance, "Hai, Hokage-sama."

"You are dismissed."

* * *

Been a while. I've been adjusting to school and on vacation for awhile and wasn't feeling terribly motivated to edit. Hopefully it won't be nearly as long a wait for the next chapter. Anyway reviews welcome and a thanks to Fuyuriki for correcting a few of my grammatical errors in previous chapters. I appreciate it and it brings me to another point. I'm only one person and I can't catch all my own mistakes so if anyone would like to beta, that'd be great.


	6. Chapter 6

_"Strength is something to strive for, but you can only continue to grow if you humble yourself enough to realize that you do not know all there is to know. The thirst for more is what drives innovation." - Uzumaki Naruto_

* * *

It was a beautiful Saturday in Konoha. April had just begun and as per normal in Hi no Kuni, the spring months were hot with only some light sprinklings of rain. Today there were a few white clouds in the sky and many people - shinobi and civilian alike - were enjoying the day off. Of course some inhabitants had more eccentric ideas of enjoying themselves than others - shinobi life, after all, tended to breed a few exercise/battle maniacs.

The forests inside the walls hummed with wildlife bar a few training grounds that shinobi were using. One such training ground was silent. No animals and no visible shinobi. That in itself was indication that it was in use. A shinobi merely arriving tended to scare most of them off and even long after they had seemingly vanished many still had the sense to feel if something was off.

Their caution was proven to be well placed soon after as two shadows clashed in the tree lines, exchanging quick blows before retreating, jumping onto opposite sides of the the training ground's clearing.

Both combatants were males in their youth, one appearing to be around eight, while the other nearing seventeen or eighteen. The older one was merely thirteen, but had matured early and stress lines adorned his face, making him appear older. The teen had an impassive look on his sharp face, his long black locks falling just past his shoulders, held in place by a neat ponytail. His long bangs were pulled to the sides of his face - held up by a hitai-ate with a simplified leaf stylized on the metal - and framed his face.

The teen wore nearly all black clothing with short sleeves and a turtleneck-like protrusion that stood to his chin. His chest and back was covered by a gray vest with no pockets. Aside from that, the youth had the black hilt of a ninjato sticking over his right shoulder and a kunai in his hand.

The other child had sun kissed blonde hair that reached to the top of his shoulders. His eyes were the color of the ocean, and his face was adorned with three whisker-like marks on each cheek. His face was mostly devoid of emotion, but if one looked closely they would see the spark excitement in his eyes and his lips twitching to form into an eager grin.

The boy also wore some loose black clothes, accented in a dull orange. His clothes, contrary to the teen, covered all his body but his hands, feet, and face. The boy, like the teen, wore sandal-like shoes that covered his foot except the toes, the backs of the shoe running up the back of their legs. In his hands, he held two kunai in reverse grips. It was fairly standard gear for a shinobi.

As one, they both dashed at each other, kunai clashed and sparks flew. They pulled away and slashed at each other in a blur - a dodge to the left, a block to the right, ducking, and shuffling all took place. This clash of steel continued for a few seconds before Naruto pushed forward, inside Itachi's guard, scoring the barest of a scratch to his cheek. By the time he brang his arms in with a scissoring motion from his slash, he wasn't even close enough to nick the Uchiha's clothing.

Jumping back, Naruto placed a kunai in his mouth and threw the other as he blitzed through a few hand seals. With a sub-vocalized call of _**Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**_ the single kunai multiplied into a hail of twenty.

With grace born of practice, Itachi almost danced through the barrage of kunai, only helped with an occasional deflection. He came out unscathed right into a quick clash with Naruto between their kunai before both jumped back.

By now Naruto was displaying signs of being tired, sweat starting to wet his clothes. Itachi on the other hand only had a few drops of sweat that had soaked into his hitai-ate.

As they both stared each other down, Itachi dropped his kunai wielding hand to his side as he called over to his student, "That's enough for today Naruto-kun. Let's go to Ichiraku's before we get you back to your apartment."

Naruto offered a grin and gave his thanks before they both took off in a swirl of leaves. Two more swirls of leaves deposited them inside an alley near Ichiraku's. Before they walked out of the alley, Itachi _**Henged**_ into a nondescript man like he had on their first trip to the ramen stand.

As they entered, the old chef, Teuchi, and his daughter, Ayame, greeted them cheerfully and they returned their greetings. As Ayame fell into conversation with Naruto and Teuchi took to making their usual orders, Itachi fell into his thoughts on the past months.

When he had first started training Naruto he had expected the boy to complain at least a little at some points. No matter the interest in a subject, it was difficult for someone to not complain at least once. Naruto, though, had outdone his expectations by not voicing any complaints at all. Instead he went at whatever task was given with near fanatical devotion. There were days when he looked annoyed or upset, but those were few and the boy had never vocalized them. From what he had observed, even on the days he didn't train the boy, Naruto took it upon himself to go above and beyond the basic maintaining exercises he had given him. In fact, he had even found it necessary to order the boy not to strain himself too much in fear he might tear his body apart.

Naruto took to training with as much vigor as or, if it was even possible, more vigor than Maito Gai - though with none of the extra dramatics said Jonin practiced. It was astounding someone so young who hadn't grown up with a war looming over them could have such dedication. Unfortunately, it made a twisted kind of sense. No one wanted to be friends with a pariah, risking the same treatment. With no one to really spend time with, Naruto had to do something to occupy himself.

Still, the boy took to many things so naturally it was as if he had done them before. Even chakra control, which he had expected to take a very long time for the boy to get the hang of, only took him a couple days shy of a week to not only get a handle on it, but to master the most basic exercise. It was impressive, especially considering when Naruto started trying the floating leaf exercise he had completely shredded the first few leaves to shreds. After he had managed to keep the leaf intact, he had the opposite problem most others faced. Instead of having trouble lifting the leaf from his skin, he had trouble keeping it close to his skin.

Itachi guessed that was the only real advantage Naruto had in regards to starting out with his chakra. While most had to spend weeks to get a feel for their chakra and then months more to build their reserves to anywhere near the average academy level, Naruto was the opposite. He could easily reach his chakra because he had so much. He just couldn't take a small amount because he never had a reference for small reserves.

He had to admit, it was quite amusing watching leaves shoot into the air as if they were projectiles.

Regardless, it was interesting to see his progress. As of yet he hadn't taught the boy much beyond the basics, including movement in combat- armed and unarmed - basic chakra control exercises, and a couple Jutsu that he thought suited the boy as rewards for his hard work.

Among those that he had taught him were the _**Henge no Jutsu, Kawarimi no Jutsu, Shunshin no Jutsu**_ and the _**Bukijutsu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.**_ He had given him the first two as a test to see which direction he would take basic techniques like them. The _**Henge**_ in particular let the boy purchase food on his own. The _**Shunshin**_ likewise was fairly basic, more requiring a lot of practice and muscle strength than skill.

The last, however, was a fairly advanced technique he had given Naruto because he wanted to test the extent of the boy's reserves and if Naruto could stop when he felt he was low on chakra.

Most didn't learn the technique as they preferred sticking to more interesting branches of Ninjutsu. The fairly steep chakra cost was also a turn off for most, but in the hands of someone who really knew how to use the technique, it was very dangerous, as demonstrated by the Sandaime throughout his tenure as an active shinobi.

Itachi had no doubt that in time the blonde would master the technique. For one, he had a good head on his shoulder for tactics, on the fly or otherwise, and secondly, he had utterly massive reserves that would only grow. Itachi could see the boy raining down hell on an unsuspecting group with so many duplicates that it would blot out the sun. It was a plausible scenario with how gigantic his reserves would be, if a tad inefficient.

He would never admit it to anyone, but sometimes he would catch glimpses of a look on his apprentice's face that would send shivers down his spine. When they would do some sparring, Naruto would occasionally get this disturbingly excited look and a brief grin that spoke of battle or even blood lust. It was a look he imagined to be on his face as he blotted out the sun. The blonde really liked the thrill of battle. It was a look he had seen on a number of other shinobi's faces - both ally and enemy.

Naruto had also grown from a malnourished eight year old to a healthy, _very_ fit eight year old. His growth (in pure physical might) was slow, but he had yet to hit puberty, so it was expected. The only thing holding him back now was his body. While significantly stronger than than any eight year old had a right to be, there were limits to how much Naruto could train his muscles at this point. His small body just didn't have the capability of growing a great deal of muscle mass.

Of course there was no doubt that when he did hit puberty, Naruto's growth in strength would increase exponentially. He would become ridiculously strong and fast very quickly. Not only that, but his body would be able to take more strain and use more chakra intensive techniques without the risk of a trip to the hospital. After all, just because someone had the reserves to do a technique didn't mean their coils and bodies could handle the strain of the output. Shinobi had to train for years to be able to utilize some of the higher tier Jutsu.

It was similar to the effect that civilians in extreme situations suffered. A rock climber may get trapped under a rock and when he releases certain chemicals and restraints, they may be able to push the rock off, but their bodies would be strained and their muscles ripped apart. A shinobi might have the necessary strength or reserves to perform a technique, but their body placed limits on the output so as not to strain the body too badly. It was a system the body used that was mostly mental in nature the body used in conjunction with the physical limiters of the eight gates to limit chakra output.

In addition to physical and basic strategic training, Itachi had also taught the boy about academic subjects, mostly focusing on history and topics that related to choices made by figures in history. He figured that if he could teach him past patterns, the boy could predict and understand people better. Naruto took to them surprisingly well, showing an interest in learning everything thrown his way. The prodigy had found Naruto's appetite to learn insatiable, likely born from the difficulty in finding sources to learn, a teacher willing to give him time previously, and a desire to prove himself.

Itachi thought it admirable, if slightly unhealthy to have such an obsession. He was admittedly being a bit hypocritical considering he enjoyed learning a great deal as well, but even he couldn't compare to Naruto's fanatical devotion to self-improvement.

Naruto's (and his own) tendencies reminded him of a quote he had come across originating from a foreign religion, Christianity if he wasn't mistaken. It was a religion recently brought to the Elemental Nations by some of the very few vessels that had accomplished the miracle of crossing one of their nigh impenetrable oceans. It had mixed reception across the continent, but the quote was, ' _We are not born with a need for knowledge, but a hunger for it. Eve bit the apple and it has been gluttony ever since.'_

He thought that quote described Naruto and himself fairly well, though he wasn't quite sure who this Eve was or of the significance of the apple, but he thought it apt nonetheless. He, like most ninja, wasn't one for religion, yet maintained the view that religion was a powerful tool, capable of moving many people to great feats, terrible or otherwise.

He cut off his musings as his ramen was placed in front of him, and he ate at his typical moderate pace with a certain regal grace about him. It was a product of being a clan heir - he was expected to be the epitome of grace and strength even in a ramen stand.

Naruto ate at a matching pace, though he lacked such grace. It was an admirable attempt nonetheless, certainly better than most non-clan adults could manage. It was endearing how Naruto had taken after him in some small ways like that. He would almost call it cute if he didn't know Naruto wasn't opposed to setting traps that ranged from harmless to nearly fatal.

After giving their thanks and saying their farewells to the father-daughter duo, they headed to Naruto's apartment as per usual. Once there, they saw each other off and Itachi headed to the Hokage's office to deliver his report.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen could honestly say that he hadn't felt so good in eight years.

Since retaking the office after his successor's untimely demise, the job had been incredibly taxing. He had expected to retire for good after his departure from office, maybe give some lessons or become an adviser, not retake office. He had been quite upset about his successor's death, not only because they had been fairly close, the boy even being his grand student so to speak, but because the young man had held a lot of promise. After Minato's death, the village was in disarray with few even remotely qualified for the job, and none had the experience he had in leading. Besides, of the few possible candidates, only one wanted the job - Danzo, an old friend though he was, was not suited to be Hokage. Particularly not during a time of rebuilding. Perhaps in times of war he would be a good leader, yet even then he was far more suited to the shadows. He hadn't earned the name _Yami no Shinobi_ for no reason after all.

While all that was terrible, it was what his successor had left him that really made the last eight years nearly unbearable. He had to deal with _mountains of_ _paperwork! Again!_ He'd had enough of that the first time around, but _no_ he had to retake the position. He had been looking forward to his retirement so he had more time to get out - take some relaxing walks, maybe put the beat down on some of the young hot shots.

Damn his love for the village and damn Minato too. Not only did he have to deal with all the stress of rebuilding after the attack, but a few years thereafter had been the fiasco with Kumo and their attempt to kidnap the heiress of the Hyuuga. The utter political shitstorm that had caused had been a headache and a half. It had nearly started a full blown war, and he had to give up one of his best shinobi because Hiashi had killed the kidnapper in a fit of rage. All before the kidnapper could be captured and proven guilty.

He understood Hiashi's rage. That didn't mean it pissed him off any less that the Clan Head hadn't been able to keep himself in check for the _five fucking seconds longer_ it would've taken to capture the man. Especially considering Hiashi was one of the most level headed people in the village.

Luckily the aftermath of the Hyuuga Affair didn't last too long (there was the minor shadow war they fought against each other and it only lasted about a year), unlike that of the Kyuubi attack. He was still dealing with backlash from the Kyuubi attack combined with the Third Great Shinobi War. Mostly the drain in population the events had caused, that being the most time consuming 'resource' to recover. Nonetheless, now he was somewhat more content than what he had been. He had finally gotten fed up with the council's - mostly the (temporary) civilian part - bullshit. He had let them be for the most part because he was busy with other dealings and swamped with paperwork. It seemed all they needed to step in line was a reminding of why he was called the Sandaime Shinobi no Kami.

He let a smirk claim his lips as he remembered the terrified expressions on the council's faces - it was one of the most satisfying things he'd done in years. He really should let loose a little more, it felt _good_ to release his chakra so much after that long.

The sweating faces of the Clan Heads may have also boosted his ego a little.

He still had it!

To build on the idiots of the council being compliant for now, Naruto was also showing signs of becoming an excellent shinobi. It wasn't surprising, Naruto had the blood of great shinobi in his veins in addition to being the Kyuubi's container - the boy was practically born for greatness. Both parents were even from clans (even if the Namikaze had always been a small one). The makings of power incarnate if he ever saw it (disregarding Hashirama-sensei, that man was a monster in human's clothing - plus he had only seen the man at his prime).

On top of all that, Itachi and Naruto seemed to be forming a close bond. It would do them both good. Naruto didn't have any good friends due to his Jinchuuriki status, and Itachi had very few people he could rely on, as just a person he could vent to and relax around. Most merely added onto the stress he put on himself, even if unintentionally. In fact, he could count those the boy relied on with one hand. There was Mikoto Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, Naruto, and maybe Izumi Uchiha. Those two boys were mirrors of each other. One was praised and the other despised, yet both had next to no one they could rely on and boundless talent.

The content smile he had been wearing disappeared as a toad appeared on his desk in a puff of white smoke. He knew he shouldn't have reflected on how good these months had been! He just had to jinx it!

With a sigh, he opened the scroll attached to the toad. Jiraiya had only been in the village three times since his prized student died. Ever since then the man had thrown himself into his spy work. Sarutobi couldn't deny that it was necessary after the tragedies they suffered, but both of them knew that Jiraiya couldn't quite bring himself to face Naruto.

Jiraiya could argue all he wanted that attempting to interact with Naruto would immediately put a giant target on his back. They both knew that if he tried hard enough, his student could pull off raising Naruto, council's wishes be damned. And if not directly, then at least give somewhat frequent visits now that they knew the boy could keep his mouth shut. The toad wallet and resizing pajamas Jiraiya had gifted the boy for his birthday the past two years proved he cared, not to mention how he bought Naruto's apartment complex.

Sarutobi inwardly sighed at that. His last active student's stubbornness really worked against him in some cases. Especially when the few insecurities he had left from his childhood reared their ugly head.

When he opened the letter, the first thing he saw was that a new shinobi village had popped up. That immediately set off alarms in his head. Shinobi villages didn't just pop up - the other current villages wouldn't allow more competition to come in. Even Konoha didn't allow it, though they admittedly tried a bit harder to recruit budding villages rather than massacring indiscriminately.

Jiraiya wouldn't give him a message like this for a village he thought would be stomped out. For him to feel the need to do so must mean that this village had a solid enough foundation that it wouldn't crumble within a few months.

As he read on, his suspicions were confirmed when he saw that a couple squads that had been sent in by Kumo to disperse the village had not returned. That was not something a ragtag group of shinobi could do. While a more skilled group may have been able to take out a couple of Kumo's shinobi, they should not have been capable of taking out an entire group. Especially if none escaped.

Reading further it seemed that his student hadn't been able to gather much information on the village yet, but he had suspicions that it might be his former teammate's work. That Orochimaru hadn't shown his face for over two years now beyond the occasional abandoned lab gave some credence to the theory.

His heart sank as he was reminded of one of his greatest failures. He had been so blind and fond of his student that he had ignored all the signs that the snake was showing of his warped mind. Then when he finally acknowledged it and went to capture him, he had let the boy go with barely a hint of a fight.

His student had become the second most infamous traitor to Konoha, right behind Madara Uchiha. With a hardened expression, the old man wrote back to his student telling him to put this village on the top of his priority list and _reminded_ him to not get distracted by his typical endeavors. Giving his note to the toad, it gave a nod before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

After the toad was gone, the old man gave a weary sigh. He had a bad feeling about this Sound Village, and when you were as old as he was, you didn't ignore those feelings. He could only prepare.

* * *

Naruto was once again in the Underground after leaving his apartment through the exit he had made in his bedroom. He may not have his ANBU escort anymore, but for some reason that one ANBU woman kept checking on him from time to time. He couldn't understand why that was. He knew their only mission was to protect him, and while checking on your objective was fairly typical, the fact she was the only ones who did it was very atypical. Especially considering she would occasionally leave snacks or even the occasional full on meal.

Humans were seriously confusing - especially women. He had seen some of them decide to do some of the most ridiculous things for no reason at all. (i.e. buying those ridiculous high heels for more than infiltration jobs and more than once pair at that for one). He had been aware they were crazy for quite some time, but his annoyance at being unable to understand so many of their acts had led to him using the _**Henge**_ to turn himself into a woman and integrate himself into one of their groups to better understand them.

The group he had integrated himself into was one of women generally in their early twenties that liked to shop and occasionally party. He tried to stay out of a lot of the parties because he was quite uncomfortable being around so many people and the deafening volume that accompanied them.

Of course, it was sometimes interesting watching the women bend weak willed teenagers and the occasional man around their finger to get a cheaper price or something else frivolous. He had noticed how easily some men seemed to swoon for women before, but he had failed to see why they would turn into even bigger buffoons than they normally were. Spending time with the group had not made it any clearer as to why they would do so, though he didn't much care for the why as long as he learned to do it. It was a very useful skill to have - especially if he could develop it beyond the meager skills that group had into something a Kunoichi could be proud of. He intended on learning how to have the same effect on women. It wouldn't do to be able to only bend one gender to his will, even if it was statistically more beneficial to accomplish it with men.

Luckily he had found a book on manipulation by Madara in his new favorite place. It included a rather sizable portion on seduction as Madara had found it tended to work very well short term. And he apparently found It somewhat humorous to needle at Hashirama and Mito in It, though surprisingly not so much at Tobirama. The only unfortunate part was that a number of the techniques Madara cited were outdated.

He was oblivious to how utterly bizarre it was for a male to learn not just one, but both sides of how to seduce. Not to mention how young he was.

He also wouldn't have cared even if he did.

Besides that, the women he was with had learned to tell what general field of work a person did based on their hands, clothes, and sometimes mannerisms. He hadn't taken this into account before and filed it away on the list of things to improve. It wasn't an entirely practical skill, but it would give him practice in finer observation.

Despite his time in the presence of that group of women, he was still not very sure of just how women's minds worked. He could predict how they would act, but at least half the time he was wrong. So deciding it was a waste of time to try following the entirely illogical thought processes that often occurred too closely, he lowered the frequency of those outings.

Luckily it hadn't been a complete waste - he had gained a better grasp on typical human behavior and emotions. That would be invaluable in predicting an opponent's moves when they made irrational decisions based on emotional responses he could evoke.

After all, despite Naruto not quite understanding most normal emotional reactions through experience or forgotten them, he did know that they influenced people to make irrational decisions. While not truly holding a great interest in them, he recognized it as an important part to consider when making tactical decisions.

His thoughts then turned to Itachi and his experiences with him over the past few months. Overall, he hadn't learned much from the teen that he hadn't already known. Though there was a pleasant exception here and there. One thing he had been taught was some history he had not known before and the Uchiha's take on it. While that was somewhat interesting, the real prize had been the _**Bukijutsu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.**_ It was a technique that he could think of quite a few uses for, despite it seemingly being a straightforward, yet deadly technique.

If he were in a tight spot with few resources, he could copy a weapon continuously and use those instead of wasting the last of his supplies.

He also may have daydreamed a time or two of blotting out the sun with a sea of metal death.

There was also an odd feeling he got when he was with Itachi, it was warm almost and sometimes animalistic when they were sparring. He didn't really know what it was, but he ignored for the most part.

He may not go all out against Itachi to keep certain affiliations he had hidden, such as his involvement with the Underground, but he could tell that his growth was starting to slow down. Logically, he knew it was only because his body didn't grow at a rate parallel to his training. Ideologically, though it annoyed him at a personal level. Once He had noticed his body's slowed rate of growth He had turned towards honing his technique even more. That, unfortunately, was also a meticulous process. He had turned elsewhere (Fuinjutsu) to find notable improvement, yet that likewise turned up dry. He mostly had to experiment with that on his own.

Frustrations aside, he had also learned his Uzumaki heritage granted him an abnormally sturdy body. One that was likely aided by being a Jinchuuriki.

Aside from his body, he was done with making all his techniques combat ready. Combat-ready being that he could pull off the Jutsu in 1.5 seconds or less. Though that was where he was putting his time now with perfecting them. That entailed pulling off the Jutsu with one half seal or zero hand seals if possible, and still maintain the power. So far he had accomplished that with three of the four techniques Itachi had 'taught' him.

Now that his patience had worn thin on being stuck in his slow progress, he wanted that cloning technique Sakumo had been holding off on giving him. So now he was making his way over to the corner Sakumo had claimed for himself.

Sitting down beside the man, they both stayed silent for a time save Sakumo ordering some sake. That set off alarms in his head as Sakumo preferred not to drink too much aside from special occasions or when he was grieving. Before he could ask about it, Sakumo spoke, "You know Naruto, it's been awhile since I've started teaching you and I've decided that while I could keep teaching you things, it's time for you to get a taste of what being a shinobi is like. Some real world experience if you will. That being said, from now on I'll be giving you missions from time to time that will be like missions you may receive as a shinobi. Your first mission is this man," here he slid a photo across the table of the man.

The photo showed a rugged looking man in his thirties with black hair and beady black eyes. He had a bottle in his hand and a smirk that seemed to scream satisfaction and superiority. Overall, he looked like a fairly typical criminal and drunk, though there was something off about that smirk. It had a tinge of some weird kind of satisfaction.

Sakumo continued, "Your objective is to kill him discreetly, don't let anyone find the body or leave any evidence."

Naruto frowned beneath the mask he now wore ever so slightly. So that was why he had ordered sake, the man was worried about his first kill. The White Fang had also not given him much information to go off of, and usually Sakumo wouldn't really take an interest in criminals. The blonde wondered what he had done to tick Sakumo off. And that discreetly part… no witnesses. Well that was fine, he could do no witnesses.

"No other information?"

"Nope, sometimes you'll get missions with minimal information so you have to find a way to deal with it."

"Will I get a reward for completing my mission like I normally would?"

Sakumo grinned under his mask. 'Always looking for more,' he thought. "Yes I will give you a reward, but you'll find out what it is when you complete your mission."

With a nod and a slight smirk, Naruto turned and walked out of the bar/restaurant area of the underground. For now he wouldn't needle Sakumo for that clone technique. There was a right time to ask for things like that.

'Sometimes that boy really worries me,' the White Fang thought as he watched Naruto leave.

* * *

Out on the streets of the Red Light District, a man named Gin and his two friends walked down the streets, swaying slightly. They were all obviously intoxicated. This was not a rare occurrence in this part of Konoha, and as such, people paid minimal attention to them.

To Gin and his friends, that was fine. They wanted to be discreet about what they were doing. While most would simply carry on with their own business regardless of what they heard, there was the occasional 'hero' that would try to interrupt them. There wasn't a good chance of them being shinobi - they tended to avoid this area of the village. Well besides that one guy (that changed appearances) who had started to hang around the blonde kid who lived here. Luckily, he only came by in the morning and late afternoon. The man probably thought he was being discreet, but anyone who lived in here for a decent amount of time could tell by how they walked and acted.

So that made this the perfect time for what he and his friends were looking to do. They turned a corner into an alleyway he knew was a place that some of the women of his favorite strip club came to relax.

It seemed that they had timed it right as well as there was one relaxing on a wall. Deciding that sneaking up on her would result in the least struggle, he turned to motion to his friends to be quiet. Contrary to what he expected, he saw no one behind him. Turning his head left and right, he never saw the wire that wrapped around his neck and pulled him up.

There, as his sight was fading, he saw his friends hanging lifelessly in front of him. Struggling only made the wire dig deeper into his neck and as the light faded from his eyes, he could only regret not seeing who his attacker was so he could damn them to hell.

* * *

Naruto hadn't wasted time any in locating his targets. It hadn't taken a whole lot of time to locate them, he only had to go to a few places people with his looks tended to frequent before he found them.

He had watched them from the shadows as he conversed with his friends and drank. It was quite annoying listening to their foolish boasts and chatter, but they had at one point started to whisper, inadvertently drawing his attention to their conversation. That led to him finding out their plans for the evening. He found it pitiful that they needed three men to subdue a single woman and decided that this was one of the reasons Sakumo made the men his targets. Sakumo, despite being a ninja and not averse to many crimes involved in that work, despised rape.

In general, the blonde didn't really care about it. From others he knew that it was wrong from a humanitarian standpoint, but in nature that was essentially what happened for a number of species. They would fight and if the male came out on top, they would become mates. He found multiple ganging up on one stupid and weak. The solitary aspect he disliked about rape was that the perpetrator typically expected it to be a one time deal. He didn't quite understand that. What was the purpose of sex if not to reproduce?

Humans were confusing in many aspects, but Naruto found their intimate relationships to be especially odd. Aside from their odd mating rituals and rape, they seemed to disapprove of a single person having multiple mates. With animals, it was not uncommon for an especially strong male to dominate their territory and take on multiple mates. Humans seemed to disapprove of this for some reason, yet inexplicably they found it acceptable for the remaining member or members of a clan on the verge of dying out taking on multiple spouses acceptable. He supposed it could be military priority that had led to that law - it had been created during the Nidaime's reign. The other exception were the Daimyo and occasionally a particularly influential politician within their court.

He had tried asking Sakumo about human relations once, but the man had said he should find his own definition of it before he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Privately, Naruto thought Sakumo had just wussed out and didn't want to try to explain it to him because his teacher knew he viewed human relationships oddly compared to the average person.

After they had finished their 'secret' plans, they stumbled through the door of the bar. Deciding to get ahead of them, Naruto seemed to glide between the shadows before ending up at the alley they had planned on coming to. He saw a woman already there, relaxing against the wall, so he worked quickly and quietly to set up some wire traps that he could activate when they came in. With his phenomenal hearing, he heard their footsteps turn into the alleyway and prepared to pull the wire onto the two cronies behind his target. As his target turned around, he snapped the wire onto his neck and watched as he was pulled up, then watched in morbid fascination as he gave a slight struggle before choking to death.

He gave a look towards the woman who was still none the wiser of the deaths that had taken place mere yards from her. Seeing as she didn't see anything he decided to let her be. The other two thugs with his target would have seen his death or at least his disappearance. He could have waited until they had split up, but he doubted Sakumo would be pleased and he had no desire to watch weak willed men overpower a single woman.

With his mission complete, he silently sealed their bodies into scrolls before leaving.

When a few people would notice their disappearance a few days later, no traces would be found, not even a drop of blood. The only thing found after an investigation were minor criminal records for all three and evidence (likely planted) of other crimes they had gotten away with. Konoha would be put on edge with many rumors spreading of their disappearance along with other criminals in the future. This would sprout rumors of a guardian in the Red Light District that would punish criminals.

Konoha would become concerned as they were made fools by not being able to punish their own criminals or capture a vigilante.

It became clear that this vigilante was skilled and moderately intelligent as even when they offered a reward for coming out and public fame - a front to capture the vigilante and possibly add them to their forces if not in them already - the true perpetrator never came forward. There were a few phonies - all would quickly be discovered.

However, a few thing remained common among the vigilante's targets.

One: they were almost always rapists and murders. Two: there were never any witnesses or bodies.

* * *

When Naruto returned to the Underground just past midnight, Sakumo was still in his self-appointed booth.

Taking a seat at the table, he wordlessly handed three scrolls with the bodies in them to Sakumo.

He accepted them silently, without even looking at hem or Naruto. "So how was your first kill?"

Naruto thought on it briefly before shrugging, "I don't feel all that different or sick if that's what you mean. I don't really get the big deal about it. Life will go on as it always has. Besides, they were bad people, weren't they?"

Sakumo didn't show anything, but said, "You should go home and rest, you've had a long night."

Wordlessly nodding, Naruto hopped out of the booth and went back to his apartment.

Though Sakumo hadn't said anything, Naruto's response and his actions that he had seen from the memories of his shadow clone worried him. While there were occasionally people who popped up who weren't at all affected by their first kill, he hadn't seen anyone so young as Naruto unaffected.

While he expected Naruto's response to be small with all the blonde had endured, he didn't expect complete apathy even if they were bad people. They both knew Naruto didn't much care whether or not they were bad people. He knew that Naruto had stamped out a lot of his emotions, the only ones staying were ones he deemed useful like curiosity or more negative emotions like rage that fueled his drive to live and improve. It was a defensive measure his mind had developed to keep it from shattering. While it made him a formidable warrior and student, it was awful to see in anyone, let alone someone of his age.

It also made for someone who had little idea on how to show mercy. He had no doubt that the only reason the boy had handled the situation the way he did was because Naruto felt there was a good chance that he had been watching.

He really had to try to bring Naruto out of the shell he had created to stomp out his emotions, but he didn't quite know how to do that. The boy that the Sandaime had assigned to teach Naruto, Itachi, was a good start; however, it would take a long time before the blonde started to really feel again. Not to mention Itachi had some problems himself and wasn't the most emotional of people. He had seen how a friendship had developed that Itachi cherished, but Naruto seemed incapable of knowing exactly what he was feeling and mostly shoved it away.

It was no doubt a result of Naruto compartmentalizing the few emotions he consciously limited himself to to the point that when something slipped past those limitations, he didn't know what to do with it. As a result, Naruto just pushed it away.

'Well,' Sakumo sighed, 'I'll just have to hope he starts to develop some more feelings with more contact with people. He won't ignore it forever. He'll eventually start to see them as potential threats to his level-headed thinking style and be forced to face them.'

* * *

Akira had just ended a long day with ANBU and was making her way over to Naruto's place to check up on him. She was exhausted, even more so than normal, but she had vowed to keep a better eye out for Naruto and she would keep to her word.

She hadn't been able to make too many check ups on him either because she was so exhausted, away on missions, or relaxing with her friends and family so the mental strain of being a shinobi lessened to manageable levels. She also thought coming too often would be too intrusive of the little privacy the boy had. She would usually only come by for a few minutes or so, sometimes leaving food or clothing as a gift.

Today she had no such thing as she hadn't had time after ANBU and she wanted to collapse into her bed as soon as she got home.

While coming upon his rundown apartment, she tried to keep to the shadows despite her fatigue and was successful in entering unnoticed. Looking around, she saw the subtle signs that someone had been through the kitchen recently to prepare food. She idly noticed that it smelled of some fruits and vegetables and smiled approvingly. She hadn't looked after Naruto for long, but she knew that when she had started as his guard, his typical meal had at least one package of instant ramen, sometimes some meat, and some overripe fruit or vegetables.

She had been confused about that before she had reached a rather rattling conclusion - vendors were not selling him good food and were likely raising their prices if he had to buy instant ramen for meals. She had confirmed her suspicions when she followed the boy throughout her time as his guard and saw the way vendors treated him. Not only would that be bad enough, but the weekly stipend of an orphan was not very large, it was enough to live off with some wise spending easily, but with increased prices, it was nowhere near enough.

When she had found that out, she had debated giving him a lot of good food, but as she observed Naruto, that plan was thrown out the window. She had seen his eyes and they were the eyes of a survivor, someone who wouldn't just accept what they perceived as charity. She had also seen wariness in those eyes and suspected the boy may throw it out if he thought it was poisoned.

So when after a month she had seen him use some good, fresh food, she had been ecstatic, if a bit confused and suspicious. How had he gotten such food now? Who had he trusted to get fresh food for him?

So she had looked into it more and found a ninja that wore a _**Henge**_ when she was around to see him and disappeared if she tried to follow. Naturally, she had been baffled as to why an unknown shinobi would visit the pariah at least weekly. In addition, why would Naruto trust someone enough to get his food that he most certainly had not been meeting during her first month as his guard and presumably before that. And why was a shinobi taking the time to help him? She was an exception as she knew that while some may help out from time to time, no shinobi dared to help him often both because it was inconvenient and would earn them the scorn of the village.

Not long after this, she had been called to the Sandaime's office alone and unexpectedly. She hadn't done anything particularly spectacular or wrong recently so she knew it had to do with her trips to check on Naruto. That was fine by her, she didn't have anything to hide, so she had made her way to his office only slightly nervous.

When she got there, she had been greeted kindly and asked some polite questions before he started to rapidly question why she kept going to Naruto's residence. It had put her slightly off balance, as it was meant to, and took her a while to calm the Hokage enough to not contemplate sending her to the T&I department.

When she had explained what she was doing, Sandaime-sama had given her a look with a faint sense of approval, but had warned her not to do things concerning Naruto alone again. Akira had understood why he had said that. Despite him only being a boy, Naruto was incredibly valuable to Konoha. It was a difficult truth to swallow knowing that he would have no choice but to become a ninja; however, she was grateful that Naruto seemed to be receiving some private instruction from a teacher that didn't hate him during what would have been a terrible first year in the academy.

With that comforting knowledge, she had backed off a bit and had been quite happy with how well the unknown instructor treated the blonde. Over the months she had seen a steady improvement to his habits and living conditions. His apartment was cleaner, his food healthier, and his body seemed to be up to standard with how his age was instead of the slightly stunted growth she had first seen.

So she smiled behind her mask as she could see and smell that he was eating better, yet she was so distracted and exhausted that she didn't hear any footsteps until there was a creek of a door and by then it was too late. There in the bedroom door was Naruto, seemingly frozen as they stared at each other, all was silent aside from the bustle outside and their light breathing.

That was until it was broken by a relatively strong voice with an undercurrent of fear, "Who are you?"

* * *

Naruto had had a relatively easy day.

After last night he thought that Sakumo wouldn't really want to speak for awhile and wanted him to contemplate his actions. He knew his lack of empathy in killing had concerned the man, but he didn't care as long as Sakumo continued teaching him. With Sakumo wanting to be left alone for a few days and Itachi gone, he had some time to himself.

That said, he did what he always did on his own time. He headed to the Founders Bunker - as he had dubbed the underground bunker Hashirama, Mito, Tobirama, and Madara had used. He had done some light exercises and then proceeded to look through a few of the many books in the library. He hadn't delved into anything new, only reviewing and advancing his knowledge on subjects he was familiar with.

Following his time in the Founders Bunker, he had gone to his apartment and cooked himself some dinner. It had consisted of some fried vegetables tossed with some chicken and fresh fruit.

The meal had also held some poison. He couldn't miss the opportunity to train his body to repel poisons more efficiently _and_ test his new poisons.

Most would say he was extreme. They were not wrong.

Naruto didn't care. Plus, from what Mito had written, it was a common practice among the Uzumaki to put minute amounts of poison in their food to train their bodies to repel them from a very young age.

After eating his admittedly delicious dinner - the poison was finally tasteless - he had gone to his bedroom to continue his studies. He had pondered how easy his day had been and got quite annoyed. He should have pushed his body further, his body should have been pushed closer to its limits, even on a relaxation day.

His thoughts of a boring, easy day had been pushed to the side as he sensed the ANBU who would occasionally check on him approach the apartment. He had been practicing sensing chakra for a while now and was doing fairly well, though he was still a novice, he could feel the woman approaching. Despite not knowing very advanced sensing, even he could feel that her reserves were quite a bit lower than normal.

He supposed he could get rid of his boredom and sate his curiosity in one go when she entered his apartment. He was confident he could take her out if she tried anything both from surprise and her apparent exhaustion, so he felt safe doing this. Though he would still err on the side of caution as not doing so would be foolish.

So preparing his act, he stepped through the door after a few moments of the woman standing in his kitchen, it seemed she had been thinking about something intently to make that mistake. Most likely a side effect of her exhaustion.

Regardless, as soon as the door creaked, she whipped around and stared at him, seemingly in shock, though he couldn't see her face as it was obscured by a Neko mask. Still, he took in her figure in the few seconds before he spoke.

The woman was wearing the standard ANBU uniform: mask, black pants and shirt, gray flak jacket, tanto over her back, arm guards over black gloves that extended halfway up her bicep, white bandage material around her right leg that held up a pouch, ninja sandals, and two more pouches on her back-waist. Her shoulder also held the traditional ANBU tattoo with the top part coming down at a curved angle and curving in on itself, while the bottom part came up and bent around the swirled part of the top.

Aside from her clothing, this woman seemed to be on the younger for ANBU, around 18 if he guessed right. Quite impressive in this age, most slacked on their training during peace. She must be fairly talented then, so she at least had a small amount of his respect. The woman had the build of a kunoichi that worked hard, a toned body with lean muscle. He idly noticed she had some curves as well, but her stance suggested she trained more in combat rather than seduction. Both useful skills, but in his opinion, seductresses tended to get too caught up in their act and neglected their practical skills. Not unusual for someone who specialized in infiltration, yet he thought general combat training was useful in any specialization. The woman's hair was also a bright blonde, not as bright as his sun kissed hair, but it was close. Her hair reached down to just above her waist and was tied into a ponytail.

He also noticed her disheveled appearance, lending further credit to his assumption that she was exhausted. There were a few rips in her uniform and she had frayed hair. To most, she was a beautiful woman. To Naruto who cared only for what appearances could tell him about a person, he only saw a trained warrior.

Finished with his observations, he spoke, "Who are you?"

That got a reaction out of the woman as shook off her surprise and turned to face him. She took a second to respond before she answered soothingly, "I'm someone who tries to watch out for you when I can. My name is Akira. You don't have to be afraid of me, I won't hurt you."

He was simultaneously pleased and annoyed that she thought she could hurt him in that state. He chose to be satisfied that his acting was good enough to fool the ANBU. "Then why are you wearing that mask?" he asked guardedly.

The woman relaxed her stance and spoke as she slowly reached to her mask, "I just came from a job that requires me to wear this. I'll take it off, ok?" A nod was all she needed to raise her hand fully and tug the mask off.

Once the mask was off, Naruto could see that her skin wasn't marred by any scar save one that cut shallowly across the bottom left part of her cheek and just over the edge of her lips. Her skin was somewhere between pale and tan. Naruto took this to mean that she hadn't been in ANBU too long and her skin was losing its tan from her work in the shadows. He had the same sort of skin, if slightly darker.

The woman smiled disarmingly at him. "See? I'm perfectly friendly."

Naruto nodded and smiled back tentatively, though inwardly he was laughing quite hard. Friendly? That's not a word he would use to describe ANBU. They could certainly be friendly, but the vast majority pushed their emotions to the side or tempered them. Perhaps they were merely like that during training, but he knew it left a lasting imprint. ANBU were vicious and mostly merciless from what he had heard and seen.

He disregarded that thought - it could make his mask slip, so to distract her from observing him more thoroughly, he asked, "Why are you here?"

She kept the same smile on her as she tried getting him to relax as she answered, "I came here because I recently became aware of how you live and wanted to check up on you without worrying you."

She was obviously trying to be conscious of how she spoke so as not to offend him or bring up bad memories. He inwardly snorted, as if he cared about that, but it was good to keep up her preconceptions of him. Still, her trying to get him to relax wasn't done with the intention of getting him to let up his guard - there was no way she knew how solid his guard was anyway - and she would have tried to attack him already if that was her intention since she seemed to think he was only a little better than most his age.

He showed none of this as he questioned her again, "Why now?" It was an innocent question, but it hit the woman hard. As soon as the words had left his mouth, she cringed noticeably and looked down in shame.

"I hadn't known just how bad you had it," she began, "and I wasn't mature enough to care to find out. I put it to the back of my mind, seeing it as a fact that life wasn't fair. That was wrong of me, and I'm sorry for being so unsympathetic."

Genuine surprise flickered across Naruto's face before he clamped down on it and pushed it away. A person that was sorry for merely doing what was normal, if unethical? It was so preposterous that he couldn't fully comprehend it. What reason was there to be sorry for treating him normally? Was it some sort of psychological guilt thing? That seemed to be the most plausible and simple answer - perhaps it was a similar phenomenon to survivors guilt. Though why she would feel that way was beyond Naruto. He really didn't even get why she suddenly wanted to help him. Sure she had seen how he lived, but what would that change? He was alive wasn't he?

This was the part about humans he really didn't understand, why did they feel things like this? It was irrational to suddenly change an opinion held for years by simply seeing something. He may have studied some psychology, but he was incapable of understanding certain concepts because he didn't think or feel like normal people did. This deficiency greatly stunted his understanding of the subject and certain applications of it, something that irked him greatly. Oh, he could identify many things that people were feeling, but he couldn't understand why they suddenly felt that way. While annoying, he could have lived with it if he didn't know that his lack of understanding would translate to him being a worse tactician. Whether that was in battle or merely everyday life to misdirect and lead people to the thoughts he wanted, it was necessary that he understood how people's thoughts moved and why.

Still, this only reminded him that he had much to learn, so he merely did what he thought the socially awkward persona he had built and an innocent eight year old would do. He smiled halfway between the ridiculously wide smile he put on for the village and a small smile of faked genuine thanks that he rarely gave and replied with some shyness, "That's alright Akira-chan, you're nicer than most people anyway."

Akira smiled, her eyes still showing a sadness and shame. This puzzled Naruto, why would she feel sadness and shame? Was it merely because of how other people acted? That was an odd reason to show those emotions, but perhaps she showed them because her sense of duty to the village was strong, thus what it did, she felt responsible for. He still didn't quite understand why she suddenly cared about how he was treated. Unfortunately, that was the most logical explanation he could come up with for the emotions that shone in her eyes.

His musings over the human psyche were broken from going deeper when she spoke again with clear sincerity in her words, "Naruto, if you need anything at all, don't hesitate to ask me. Even if you just want someone to talk to. Just leave an old T-shirt on your window sill and I'll come as soon as I see it."

Naruto nodded and for the briefest moment he felt a flare of... something when she said he could call on her at any time. He couldn't recognize it at all. He wasn't comforted by the thought, nor could he call it joy. The flare of emotion only lasted a moment before settling into the back of his mind. He dismissed, knowing that he couldn't reasonably try to reproduce such a feeling artificially. He would just have to be more aware of it in the future.

Akira smiled at him once more before her face lit up in alarm. She looked at him again and smiled as she spoke, "Now Naruto, I trusted you with the secret of who I am, so don't tell anyone who it is behind this mask," here she held up said mask and put it to her face. "If you absolutely must tell anybody about me for some reason, don't say my name, call me anything else you want to, just not my name. Can you do that?"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically and verbalized his commitment, "Yeah, I promise I won't tell anybody who you are!"

Smiling at his enthusiasm, she gave a wave and hopped out the window, banishing into the shadows.

As she left, Naruto couldn't help but ponder Akira's decision to take off her mask. It was common knowledge that the identity of ANBU members was to remain a secret only known by a select few. Most of the same rank didn't even know who their co-workers were. There were exceptions to this - Hatake Kakashi being one of the most prominent - but the vast majority were kept secret. If her emotions had compelled her to take off her mask to gain his trust with little thought on it, Naruto couldn't help but wonder what other irrational decisions he could invoke in people if he could guide their thought process. He moved learning how to understand and move people's emotions in a certain direction higher on his ever growing list of things to do.

* * *

Jiraiya of the Sannin was a man of many regrets.

He regretted not getting Tsunade to think of his advances as more than a joke or the attempt of a pervert.

He regretted letting his first students go back to the hellhole that was Amegakure, only to perish in battle.

He regretted not being there for his last remaining student when the Kyuubi attacked, forcing the man to die sealing it away.

He regretted being too much of coward to take care of his student's son, his godson, after Kushina and Minato had perished. Despite the excuses he made, he knew in his heart that he merely couldn't stand to see the face of his dead student.

He regretted letting his former teammate, Orochimaru, escape from the village when he had turned rogue and for not acknowledging his odd behavior sooner.

Despite all those regrets, Jiraiya trudged on. It was the life of a ninja to hold the regrets of their actions on their shoulders. That didn't mean he couldn't try to lessen that weight by rectifying some of his mistakes. Most he couldn't do anything about, but Orochimaru? He would kill the son of a bitch for all his crimes. The Sannin was working on tracking down his wayward teammate, though just like his summon, he was as slippery as a snake. Every rumor he heard was either vague or led to a dead end.

Recently though, a village had popped up out of nowhere: Otogakure. For a new village to stay up like that was near impossible. The perfect storm of a powerful leader, willing participants, and properly hidden bases was a rare one. The latter two, while uncommon themselves, were at least semi-feasible. A powerful, competent leader that wanted to build a village however? Very few fit that bill. Orochimaru was one of the few that made the list.

The teams Kumo had sent in, for example, had all disappeared without a trace from what he could gather. That wasn't something any A-rank on the verge of S could do. Even a team of competent A-rank shinobi would struggle to do such a fine job. And a group of ninja banding together to form and lead village was laughable. Shinobi were a paranoid bunch by nature, especially ones that had run from their villages. They'd tear each other apart. That left S-ranks on the exclusive list.

While not all S-rank ninja in the Bingo Book were actually of that threat level - they merely might carry something a village deemed important enough to warrant the rank and bounty size - all of the more prominent ones did. The ones that did have this power were the ones he looked at and of them, only a select few among that small group _might_ want to form their own village. Out of those, he had deduced that it was probably a good chance that his former teammate was the one behind it. A good factor in determining this was that his operations were carried out with a certain discreteness that few would care for or want.

Chief among these discreet operations he had noticed after a few months of undercover work, were people - typically children - mysteriously disappearing. That just reeked of Orochimaru. Bodies for experiments or to induct into his own little army.

Being the loyal, dependable, and dashing spymaster he was, he had immediately sent word to Sarutobi-sensei that he may have discovered the place Orochimaru had holed up. Of course it wasn't as simple as it sounded. Sure he was almost positive his snake loving teammate was behind this village's appearance, but he didn't actually _know_ where the main base of operations was. And if he knew his old teammate like he knew he did, the snake had multiple bases of operation hidden through Rice Country and more in other countries.

The hidden aspect of ninja villages didn't typically hold true nowadays. Sure, they were all relatively hidden, but everyone important knew the general whereabouts of the others. Tsuchi no Kuni's Iwagakure was hidden somewhere in the mountains Southwest of the Northern Sea in the Northwest of the continent. Opposite of Iwa, Kumogakure was hidden somewhere high in the mountain ranges in the southern part of Kaminari no Kuni in the Northeast of the Elemental Nations. To the Southwest, Kaze no Kuni held Sunagakure, hidden by the unpredictable sandstorms that they used to devastating effect in war time. To the Southeast in Mizu no Kuni, separated from the main continent in a series of islands, the largest of which Kirigakure was located on. Getting there, however, was near impossible without having been there first with constant and thick fog.

Konoha had admittedly all but thrown the hidden part of their name away. They were the easiest to find by far due to the Shodaime establishing a policy of more friendly relations with Hi no Kuni and the rest of the continent. Their only deterrent was the massive forest surrounding the village and the odd piece of Fuinjutsu to compel anyone with greater than civilian levels of chakra to stay away. Unfortunately, even those minor measures could somewhat easily be circumvented. The only real protection they had was the detection barrier that out-did the physical walls by half a mile. It could be turned from harmless to a devastatingly effective counter measure to invaders startlingly quickly. They had primarily Mito Uzumaki to thank for that.

Luckily, they hadn't ever really needed it since everyone was too scared of someone to come start a fight at their front gates. All four of their Hokage had been even stronger deterrents than other Kage. The others boasted strong Kage, certainly, but Konoha tended to win in a scale of just how scary strong their leaders were, tipping the scales in their favor.

That was in the past. Jiraiya was realistic enough to see that strength was waning. All their big tanks were getting on in years, and while they could keep kicking for a while, there didn't seem to be a whole lot of promise for powerful individuals coming up. Aside from those Uchiha brats Itachi and Shisui, there wasn't anyone so standout that his informant back home talked so highly of. Naruto was a deterrent himself, but he was still very young yet. Had Sarutobi-sensei gone a bit more old-school and started training the boy when his generation had typically started really training there might have been something else to note. That was not the case.

Regardless, of the future strength of Konoha, he was trying to fix the Orochimaru problem so it was one less thing they had to fix when he eventually got too old to fight or, more likely, died in combat. So when his messenger toad almost immediately returned to him, he wasn't surprised by the order to focus on Orochimaru and the specific order to ignore his typical pursuits. While slightly disappointed, he understood it's necessity and he could always get in his personal hobbies while waiting on an informant.

The messenger toad gave him a slightly disturbed look at the rather perverted look on his face and the slight giggle he let out as he imagined his regular acts of peeping in hot springs for his supposed 'research.' Before he could give the toad a piece of his mind, it vanished in a plume of white smoke back to Mount Myoboku.

Jiraiya silently cursed the toad before standing to his impressive full height of 6' 3". His pure white hair whipped around and settled at his waist, held in a spiky line by a ponytail. The top of his head was covered by a veritable mane of hair, held out of his face by a headband with two spikes and the kanji for oil on it, though two long bangs still framed his face. His face was somewhat rugged with fair skin and a wart on the left side of his nose.

He wore a light green short skirt kimono with matching pants with mesh armor visible on his wrists and ankles. He wore hand guards, a black belt, and traditional wooden sandals. He also donned a red haori with two yellow circles near the shoulder area with a giant scroll strapped to his back.

He looked around the poor village he was in before melting into the shadows to go search for information somewhere that wasn't prone to draw a lot of attention.

* * *

" _Have you ever wondered which hurts more: doing something and wishing you hadn't or not doing anything and wishing you had?" - Jiraiya of the Sannin_

* * *

 **Been longer than I planned but motivation to edit was severely lacking. Plus I've been getting into the groove of college. As always, constructive criticism is welcome.**


	7. Chapter 7

" _More the knowledge lesser the ego. Lesser the knowledge more the ego." - Unknown scientist of the Old World_

* * *

It had been a day since his meeting with the ANBU member named Akira and two since his first kills. Now he was heading back to the Underground having given Sakumo plenty of time to think. It was time he finally got his hands on the cloning technique that would allow him to do so much more. Possibly even avoiding direct confrontation with the villagers entirely. It was a pipe dream, that one, nonetheless he wished for it.

Glancing to his side as he walked, he noticed the typical dealings of drugs and other various illegal items along with hushed conversations. The cheers and groans of those gambling and drinking filled the room enough to cover anyone from easily eavesdropping. There was also the occasional spot clogged with smoke from cigarettes and the like. He avoided those areas as much as possible. The smell irritated his nose and he just found it somewhat unpleasant.

As he reached Sakumo, the blonde took a seat in the spot beside Sakumo and waited for his customary tea. After its arrival, Naruto looked over to the White Fang to see that he was taking a sip of his own tea. Deciding to get right to the point, he asked, "Have you decided to teach me the memory transferring clone Jutsu?"

Sakumo glanced down at the blonde and a second later a scroll appeared in front of him on the table. It wasn't placed there and it didn't appear in a puff of a smoke - it was just suddenly _there._ It was a reminder to Naruto of just how far of a gap there was between him and people like Sakumo. And this man was supposedly years - maybe even over a decade - out of practice. He could only imagine the kind of monster he was in his prime.

Looking back to Sakumo, he saw a lazy look in his sensei's eye. "That's the scroll for the technique. I'm sure you can work out the description yourself. You're capable enough on your own, so start when you want, but once you've finished learning it burn the scroll. It is a Kinjutsu after all."

Naruto nodded his acceptance and grabbed the scroll before letting his hand fall to his side and looking at Sakumo. He hesitated a moment, then, resolving himself, he spoke, "The time I've spent with Itachi... I've been getting odd feelings about him. Is it a sense of camaraderie?"

The white haired man glanced at him with a slight glint of interest. "Oh? I can't very well answer that if you don't give me more details than that."

Naruto frowned in thought, "It," he contemplated, "Is really more than one thing. I feel conflicted. On the one hand, Itachi makes me want to lower my guard some. On the other, I know I can never do that for my sake and the fact that he makes me feel that way just raises my guard higher," the blonde paused to come up with a comparison and finally settled on something simple. "Without my paranoia I think it would be a nice feeling. Almost as if I was to have access to my own little library."

Sakumo hid his surprise at this well. He hadn't expected Naruto to acknowledge any positive feelings he had for Itachi so soon. Granted, it had been a few months already; however, Naruto could be a very stubborn boy when he wanted to be despite his usually rational course the boy's admittance to having conflicting thought processes over the person who was probably closest to him - he didn't count himself, Sakumo was in a bit of a gray area - proved he had barely even cracked the shell that would lead to him accepting or at least tolerating most other people. Deciding to answer vaguely for now since he knew Naruto was liable to clam up and lose progress unless he reached his own conclusion, he answered, "You'll know what it is after you feel it more often. Think too hard on it and the feeling will just elude you. I'm sure you know that."

Naruto's frown remained, but he nodded and headed off to one of the few training grounds. If Sakumo was confident that he could sort out what he was feeling on his own then he would believe him. The man tended to have pretty good judgement about things like this.

He quickly reached one of the more private training grounds that not many had access to. It wouldn't do to have someone copying him when practicing the new technique. Putting the scroll on the ground, he opened it and looked through its contents.

 _ **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.**_ That was the name of the Jutsu. He supposed it was a fitting name since it should be a copy of the original - a shadow of sorts. Sakumo had been brief in writing the instructions to the Jutsu, and beyond the information that it used his chakra in a different manner than was typical of a cloning technique, it had nothing. The instructions were simple as well - there was only one hand sign necessary for the Jutsu. Just not a traditional one. It showed both hands held up with the middle and pointer fingers crossing each other.

After memorizing the scroll, he saw no further use in it and no hidden secrets so he burned it.

Crossing his fingers as instructed, he ran the chakra for the Jutsu and promptly widened his eyes. He was now looking at a copy of himself, but the amount of chakra it used was massive - roughly half his reserves. Deciding to risk it, he created one more clone, and felt his reserves get cut in half again.

So this Jutsu took half the users reserves by default. That was a major weakness he would have to work out. He didn't want to halve his chakra every time he used this technique, especially if he was creating multiple clones over a short period of time. If he created the en masse, he assumed it would spread his chakra evenly. Whoever created this couldn't have thought this was practical for each individual clone - it was too advanced for an idiot to have created. He would test it all the same of course. Assumptions got people killed.

Deciding to test the memory transfer part of the Jutsu, he motioned for the clone to dispel to see if it could do so on its own. The rush of memories of himself confirmed it. What he wasn't prepared for was the sudden rush of chakra reentering his reserves.

Focusing in on himself, he felt out his reserves and found he had just over ¾ths of his full reserves. The Jutsu transferring the leftover over chakra to him was a nice touch. Very practical. And that brought on its own question in addition to the distance at which he could regain memories from clones. What was the drop off for chakra returning to him? He highly doubted it was a constant variable. And did the memory transfer decrease in efficiency over distance? There were so many limits to test for this Jutsu. It was exciting. Jutsu were usually (at least at the level and theory he had been learning) fairly straight forward with predictable results and limits. This one seemed like it had the possibility for a lot more irregularities.

Deciding to test the durability of the clones, he turned to the remaining clone. The clone had a look of fear cross his face before he comically started to run. Scowling in annoyance, Naruto threw a few kunai. The clone dodged the first few, only grazing his clothing before getting a cut just shy of a gash on his arm causing it to dispel.

As the clones memories rushed to him, he felt the urge to scratch at where the kunai had cut the clone. It seemed he got some feedback on injuries as well, something he should look into modifying. It also answered the question of how durable they were. Not very. He might want to look to Fuinjutsu to make them more substantial once he advanced in the subject more if modifying it directly failed. Having them more durable in general would be a plus on its own without the possibility of lowering a potential opponent's guard for a moment if they believed the had killed him.

The supposed copies also were not perfect. Perhaps it was a blunder on his part as his first time trying it but something in the back of his mind told him he wasn't that lucky. He would have never done something so utterly stupid as to run so comically. Especially for the purpose of testing a Jutsu.

With the memories returning to him, he couldn't help but wonder if this could help in Taijutsu training. It wouldn't make sense for muscle mass to be transferred back, but muscle memory was more of a mental facility than a truly physical one. Even if it didn't, experience taking on multiple opponents, even with the same fighting style he had was bound to have some value.

Speaking of mental feedback, how much information could he take before he wound up turning his brain to mush? While he was confident in his durability and mental fortitude, he didn't want to see what an information overload would do to him or find out if the Kyuubi could heal him from it. He rather liked how his brain was now.

Thinking about the drawbacks of this Jutsu - the high cost and potential for information overload - he could guess this wasn't originally intended for long term use or perhaps even much use in a fight. It was most likely originally created for infiltration or scouting for minimal risk. These clones were not very practical to fight with for nearly anyone. It seemed they had a great deal more intelligence than most other cloning techniques, but (if it wasn't a defective first try) they also came with the clones having quirks in addition to having crap durability. Clones overall tended to not be terribly durable, but this was high on the list of least durable clones.

Still, he could probably use them in combat as he got older to first map an opponent's style of combat without danger to himself. His reserves were bound to be way more massive than damn near anyone after all. The memory feedback would just get in the way if he were in the middle of a fight himself though, so he'd have to find a way to cope with it or push it to the side. As it was, these clones required a lot more in depth testing to see what their base limits were and how to work around them.

A stray thought hit him as he left to go to the Forest of Death for a more private and versatile place to test, ' _What will happen to my mental state with so much more experience than my age would normally allow?'_ It would probably mean that he'd age faster mentally. He shrugged to himself, not exactly sure what that would constitute and not really caring. Naruto would be Naruto whether the mental feedback effected him in an unexpected way or not. Besides, he was already far more savvy to the world than most children his age.

With that parting thought, he started to test the limits of the _**Kage Bunshin.**_

* * *

Akira was feeling better than she had in quite a while.

She had finally gotten to talk to Naruto face to face and he seemed to be doing as well as was to be expected.

These past few months she had been weighed down by the guilt of not doing anything to help Naruto despite how young she'd been. She felt it more on behalf of the village, but it was guilt all the same. The blonde hadn't been able to enjoy herself with friends and family as much as she used to because of it and they hadn't asked despite noticing. They were probably respecting her privacy and assumed it was the fault of seeing something in ANBU. Not exactly wrong, but not right either.

So having - inadvertently - confronted Naruto and seeing for herself that he was doing as well as her observations of him had indicated- NOT stalking - put her guilt to rest a bit. Even more so when he hadn't seemed to blame her for not helping more.

Of course he seemed to think it odd of her for even feeling the need to apologize to him for doing what everybody else certainly did or worse. That did wonders for her view of Konoha and made her plummet down into a session of sulking again.

That was how she found herself in some bar with a couple of friends trying to drink away some of her regret. She didn't drink often - she was still technically underaged in Hi no Kuni at 17, but that was waived for ninja of any rank inside the village and sometimes outside it. Shinobi tended to die young and see horrible things so people figured what was the harm in letting them indulge in a little alcohol. Of course when outside the village, you were expected to behave yourself so as to not give the village a bad name. Allowing ninja to drink underage was a privilege the owner chose to give and a risk that they took. Ninja could be very destructive without intending to after all. She'd made the exception now because of a combination of anger and disappointment at the village's treatment of Naruto and a long, tiring mission.

Her friends had convinced her that she needed to relax and after some half-hearted arguing, she had agreed. Now after having had a few drinks, her head was a little off and her mind not at one hundred percent. Normally, this wouldn't be much of a problem - her friends were decent people as far as shinobi went, but they were worried for her and had decided they should needle her into telling them what was bothering her.

It wasn't working very well. Despite being tipsy, Akira was still aware enough to realize what they were doing and she didn't want to tell them for a number of reasons. One was that she was worried about how they would react to her decision to try and be friendly to the pariah of the village. Despite being disappointed in the village, she was still afraid of how her friends would treat her if they found out. It would take a heavy toll on her psyche should her family and friends ostracize her, even the opinion of the common people would hurt. She had always been at least mildly social after all and she loved those close to her. She couldn't imagine them drifting away.

The only reason Akira could come up with for Naruto being able to cope with all that hatred focused on him was that was all he had known. While humans in general were able to cope with things well given time, children tended to be able to do so even better since they had yet to learn the ways of the world and what was normal. The hate, for Naruto, was normal. While seeing the kindness of others likely hurt him mentally, he seemed to have a strong will and coped with it well.

She did not have that. Despite having a strong resolve, she may break if her friends turned on her so she merely wallowed in her depression, deflecting any questions relating to her state.

* * *

 _ **Two months later, June 9th**_

It had been a short two months for Naruto. He had quickly finished finding the limits to the _**Kage Bunshin**_ and while there were the limitations were numerous, overall it was a very impressive piece of work. He planned to fix some of those shortcomings when he reached a sufficient level in either Jutsu theory or Fuinjutsu.

The amount of research and experimenting necessary to modify it was still a long ways off. For now he had to be content with the limitations. He had found that when doing physical exercises, he could take in more memories from the clones than if he was studying something theoretical like the mechanics of Jutsu or tactics. It made sense, physical movements were mundane and repetitive in comparison to theoretical knowledge. It was also sometimes detrimental to read multiple subjects at once with the clones. Their contents often got muddled and confused in his mind, sometimes retroactively interfering with his memory on a subject. He found that his limit to being the most effective and efficient was studying two (radically different) subjects at a time.

Luckily when he was experimenting with different things, he could delegate more groups to different areas. The reason for this he felt was two-fold. One, studying could be tedious rather than the physical experience of experimenting and failing or succeeding. The other was the mere fact that different tests his clones ran took different amounts of time, therefore they dispelled at far different times rather than in somewhat close proximity.

He was also limited in the amount of clones he could make as there was a minimum amount of chakra needed for them to be able to function properly. He didn't see the point of pushing it too its limits though since they lasted for shorter amount of times with less chakra. He'd also found that as long as they had enough chakra, they could use any Jutsu he knew - a very useful mechanic, one that would only increase in versatility the older he got. From what he knew, clones could typically only use physical arts like Tai and Kenjutsu unless the creator was a master of the technique. Even then they were typically limited to the element they were created with.

The most annoying thing about his clones by far was the fact that they always had some sort of quirk. Some were more extreme than others, but they were all noticeably different from him in terms of personality. Some would act like idiots and afraid outside serious combat (and even then they occasionally didn't shape up), others became obsessed with one thing or another - not necessarily a bad thing in certain situations such as research but the number of times they became obsessed with something useless was astronomical. They had other quirks as well, some becoming sadists or acting the stereotypical mad scientist. The only theory he had for them was that the clones intensified certain parts of his personality. Unfortunately even that theory didn't hold up too well considering how idiotic some of them acted.

After many trials and failures, he gave up finding a concrete reason as pointless for the moment. The clones were fairly inconsistent in their quirks, the only loose guiding principle in predicting them was the task he made them to take on. Regardless, he chalked up the differences as being a good thing overall even if they were a nuisance to deal with. Their quirks could give him a different perspective on certain tasks that was refreshing.

While he loved exploring complicated Jutsu, the details of it were irrelevant at the moment. Today was Itachi's birthday. Normally he wouldn't bother or care about something so insignificant as a birthday, but he felt he owed at least a little to the Uchiha. While he could disregard honor quite easily, he had his own twisted sense of it that mostly Sakumo had cultivated in him.

He had decided to give the Uchiha a small token of his appreciation for being with him for his first pleasant birthday. Typically it was filled with running and/or hiding. While Itachi had only visited him briefly, the teen had given him some small gifts and the first Jutsu the prodigy had actually taught him. Naruto had a feeling Itachi had wanted to do more, but knew that he was a simple person.

For that he would repay Itachi by giving giving him this gift in return. Itachi was much like himself and cared little for mundane things (though for a different reason). It was also admirable in the blonde's eyes that he would take time to train him on a day most humans viewed as important.

That was how he found himself sitting across from said Uchiha who was looking at him with the slightest hint of disbelief with a small package in his hands. He felt the faintest of smirks twitch across his lips at the reaction. Uchiha were notorious for not being an expressive group outside interactions with clan members, and Itachi was even less expressive than most. It brought the blonde a sense of pride that he could bring out that look from the prodigy.

He knew of course why the teen was looking at him like that. Just a few months ago he had been apparently lacking in food and money even being a bit malnourished. Now he had taken the time to get a gift for Itachi. While his help with buying food cut down on costs a great deal initially (officially being taught the _**Henge**_ only helped), he still wasn't left with a whole lot to spend from just a stipend - especially with the amount he ate due to his rate of metabolism (he suspected the only reason he hadn't been more malnourished was the Kyuubi strengthening his body). So getting a present for the teen with how little would be left over was bound to surprise, not even taking into account his stand-offish personality.

Of course with his other job, he had plenty of money saved up so it wasn't a huge deal, but Itachi didn't know that and Naruto planned to keep it that way. He wasn't going to get the man anything expensive to tip him off.

Slowly, Itachi turned his gaze down to the rather plain package and slowly started to open it. This made the blonde's mouth twitch once more. Good, the Uchiha had seen that he'd consider it an insult if he tried to return it. That was why he liked the teen, there were so few competent people these days.

He watched as Itachi slowly picked up the necklace that had been inside the box. The necklace was rather plain, holding three metal rings spaced a few inches from each other. Necklaces were typically impractical for shinobi, but this one would lie flat on the neck and could rather easily be stuck to the neck in times of great movement if necessary.

It was simple, just like Naruto made himself out to be. A small token of his appreciation in addition to the fact that he had taken the time to discover when Itachi's birthday was.

Itachi glanced back to the necklace and put it on. Idly tracing his finger along it, he glanced back at Naruto and gave a slight smile, "Thank you for the gift Naruto. Shall we start practice or do you have any more surprises for me?" he ended humorously.

Naruto shook his head and started to do laps. At this Itachi shook his head and sat on a nearby rock and pulled a book out. There was no need to supervise the blonde, if anything, he would do more laps than necessary. Itachi touched the necklace again. 'What an interesting boy,' he thought.

* * *

It had been a day since Itachi's birthday and they had met at their usual training ground. Today Itachi had brought along someone else.

The other teen looked only marginally older than Itachi and had a carefree air about himself. He was also obviously an Uchiha with his black hair and eyes and pale skin, though it was odd to see one so carefree and seemingly open. Friendly even.

The teen had a somewhat broad nose, a high collared shirt like Itachi's - which seemed to be standard Uchiha wear - and short, unkempt hair. He also wore a tantō over the right side of his shoulder with held by a brown leather harness running across his chest.

What Naruto noticed most though was that, though he looked carefree, the teen was highly alert of his surroundings. Even more so than most ANBU he had seen. An interesting persona to be sure, similar to the one he used.

Itachi spoke up as he noticed his attention drawn towards the other teen, "Ah, Naruto, glad to see you're here. This is Shisui, he's my cousin and a good friend of mine. He will be helping to train you occasionally."

Shisui, immediately after his introduction turned to Itachi with a hurt expression on his face and wailed dramatically, "Are we only good friends Itachi?! I thought we were the best of friends!" He proceeded to sulk proceeding this announcement, and Naruto could almost see a storm cloud form over his head.

Naruto blinked at this in a slight amount of disbelief while Itachi merely sighed, seemingly used to this type of behavior. "Alright, you're my best friend, can we get on with the day now?" Though he said it in a resigned tone of voice, Naruto could detect there was a hint of amusement and fondness.

Shisui also made a remarkable recovery from his depression and proceeded to drag Naruto off to 'test him out'.

After a few hours of sparring, Naruto found that Shisui valued speed quite a lot, as suggested by his nickname Shunshin no Shisui. His base speed was impressive impressive enough without his ability to successively use the _**Shunshin no Jutsu**_ mid-battle. __Naruto had never seen such mastery of a Jutsu first-hand. He could never push Sakumo anywhere near where he needed to start showing off. Shisui, on the other hand, seemed quite content to show off a little.

As they parted ways for the day, Naruto couldn't stop the feeling of eagerness in his chest at gaining a new sparring partner. One with a unique fighting style to boot! Itachi was precision exemplified, while Sakumo was so out of his league that he technically just fell into the power category at the moment, even if that wasn't his specialty. Shisui filled in the speed exemplified quite nicely. Still, one thing he took from the training session was for sure.

He needed more field experience. He could try to work out something with Sakumo, but something told the blonde the man would be difficult. So that left asking Itachi to take him out for some missions. He'd normally be opposed to this (he was very meticulous about keeping his cover), but Sarutobi probably wouldn't want people to know he was being trained so he wouldn't be stuck with those pointless chores the system had the gall to call D-rank missions.

Well at least he had something to do tonight. Planning the right moment to ask Itachi to take him on a mission was important. Timing and the circumstances surrounding an event were crucial details after all.

* * *

Itachi and Shisui watched Naruto disappear into the forest before Itachi finally broke the silence with a question, "So what do you think about him?"

Shisui took on a serious expression contradictory to the one he had been wearing all day. "His potential is frightening to say the least. Especially considering the fact that he has the drive to accomplish great things. A drive that looks like it's being fueled everyday just by living here. Plus he's frighteningly quick and powerful for a child his age."

Itachi nodded, merely hearing his own thoughts mirrored. "Yes, I noticed the same thing. He also lets his mask drop more easily around others now, if not completely and only for those who earn his respect."

"Do you think he'll be a risk to the village?"

Itachi could hear the regret in his cousin's voice for even having to bring this up, but he answered truthfully, "I think it's possible. He is a Jinchuuriki. They don't have the greatest track records. Even Kushina-sama was a loose cannon at times. However, I think that it's very possible to keep him from harming the village. He'll never love it, but he's a reasonable kid. I'm certain I can find ways to influence him. He has shown signs of valuing myself, even if subconsciously."

Shisui chuckled humorlessly, "So we're going to be deterrents for what even we admit is probably a ticking time-bomb. How terrible."

Itachi agreed, though he didn't voice it. To become a boy's friends to keep the village safe - even if he truly did cherish their friendship - left a bad taste in his mouth. It felt too much like playing with a young boy's emotions like the villagers tried to do. Oftentimes, Itachi mused, life wasn't fair and sacrifices had to be made.

It didn't mean he had to like it.

* * *

Naruto was in his room meditating after a day of activity. It was a calming exercise he would do when he wasn't caught up in learning, training, or experimenting too much. With his active mind he hadn't done so often, usually only resorting to meditation out of frustration.

Regardless, he enjoyed the calm that came with meditating and focusing on one's inner self. It was a relaxing experience, yet exhilarating at the same time. If he dug deep enough, he could even start to _really_ feel the flow of his chakra and not just its constant presence.

Its ebb and flow throughout his system, passing through the 361 tenketsu throughout his body. He could feel the Eight Gates regulating his flow of chakra and limiting it so he wouldn't burn out.

Despite most people's flow being constant at rest, from what he had read, his felt different. At times it flowed smoothly and quickly, yet at other seemingly random points it would rage like a typhoon with all the raging torrents that came with them.

His only guess as to the odd phenomenon was the fact that he was a Jinchuriki. All the same, he felt awe every time he dove deep enough to feel this flow. Regardless of the odd occurrence, he had just started to realize a different, more concerning anomaly. He had recently centered himself deeply enough to barely differentiate between the yin and yang parts of his chakra. Theoretically, the physical and mental energies that made up chakra should be somewhat balanced. There were some exceptions to it being relatively balanced, after all, everyone had different potentials according to their genetics (loose as the specifics in that field were, that was known) and some clans naturally had certain affinities - the Kurama Clan had been pointed to as having far more mental energy on average for example.

Training also affected the growth of an individual's chakra. To increase physical energy, derived from every cell of the body, one could exercise, take stimulant, and just practice general chakra flow as it tended to be better for the yang portion. For mental energy, derived from the minds consciousness, one could study, meditate, and gain experience. Experience could be equated to practicing a technique. Repetition to gain mastery and knowledge of the technique, similar to muscle memory.

Using this logic, despite being at peak physical form for his age, he should have more yin, or mental energy, due to all of his studying. He may train and exercise excessively, but he didn't take stimulants beyond some basic vitamins. He also fanatically studied and practiced techniques to train his chakra. By all accounts, he should have more yin chakra than yang, even if only by a small margin. That was not the case.

He had more yang chakra than yin and it seemed to be increasing at an unnatural rate considering his body was in peak condition. Yes, the Uzumaki had supposedly been famous for great vitality which may account for higher than expected yang reserves, but the fact that he could feel a difference while being a novice was concerning. This anomaly could not be the work of genetics. And as was his nature, he could not leave such an oddity unsolved for too long, just in case it could cause problems down the road. After all, chakra relied on a balance of yin and yang. If he had one way out do the other, he may run out of one before the other or become even more horribly inefficient.

The rapid growth in his reserves was also a very odd factor. He supposed it could be from an outside party injecting yang chakra into his system through seals, but that didn't make a whole lot of sense if they were just boosting one side. What benefit would that have? It may make control harder, but he would still have more gas in the tank.

Besides, it was unlikely someone would be skilled enough to sneak up on him. While he knew there were many people who could get past his senses, most would have no reason to, and the others likely wouldn't be skilled enough in seals to make it happen without outside help of someone more than halfway to a master in skill.

Though he did in fact have a seal with chakra behind it that wasn't his own.

The Kyuubi.

That answer didn't make much sense either though as he doubted the Kyuubi would willingly do that, so the only possibility left was a built in function of the seal. The question that theory left gave him a lot more questions. If it was a function of the seal, then why would it only filter yang chakra into his system?

It was an anomaly he would have to leave unsolved for now with no logical answers, but he planned on finding out what it was as soon as he could. Nonetheless, he should work on finding a solution to the problem. It wasn't affecting him now, but as he grew older, who knew what could happen?

* * *

Omake

A couple days after Naruto had met Shisui, he and Itachi were sitting in a companionable silence, enjoying the sounds of nature.

It was an odd experience for him, having constantly been doing something productive since he could remember. Doing something just for the peace and satisfaction it gave didn't even register with him previously. It was a nice experience if he could call it that.

Of course, it wasn't entirely true that he was doing nothing productive, but it was certainly the most nonproductive thing he'd done for a long time.

His musings were broken by the crinkle of a wrapper. Looking over at Itachi, he saw him opening a pack of what seemed to be pocky. Naruto blinked in confusion.

Itachi spoke as he offered a stick to him, "It is the greatest food in the world. Have some." He didn't share his picky with many people, but this was an exception and it could lead to a fellow lover of pocky.

The blonde silently reached out for it and only took a second to observe it before taking a bite.

The crunch that followed was oddly satisfying and the taste that came rushing with it was also quite pleasant.

Naruto looked at it in surprise for a moment before quickly devouring the rest of it. It was about as good as ramen.

"Is it not the most wonderful thing you have ever tasted?"

Itachi seemed to have an almost fanatical look in his eyes as he stared at the blonde. Slowly nodding, Naruto silently asked for another. Giving a smile, Itachi gave another stick to the Jinchuuriki.

They would stay there, enjoying the atmosphere and pocky for another few moments before going their separate ways.

* * *

" _The knowledge that I and all others have is, at most, little compared to all that there is." - Unknown scientist of the Old World_

* * *

 _So, short chapter, but its out sooner than it would otherwise be. Plus it felt like it was getting choppy so I figured it was better to cut short than to ramble. See ya._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Manipulation**

" _When hunting, you should first make sure you know which roll you play - prey or predator" - Sarutobi Hiruzen_

* * *

It had been a month since Itachi's birthday and Naruto had been slowly and feeding the idea of going on missions to the teen. He had no doubt Itachi was picking up on his hints, just as he knew the teen was hesitant to comply. Most likely because Itachi had started going on missions at a very young himself and as a result didn't want him in any unnecessary danger.

Naruto was usually patient when working towards a goal, even taking the time to comprehend the other point of view (mostly so he could more effectively make progress). That being said, he was getting fed up with being kept in Konoha when the ability to leave - if only for a few hours - was tantalizingly close. Plus, he wanted field experience. Something more substantial than occasionally hunting criminals in Konoha. They were easy to catch and half the time hadn't even gone to the academy so they were no challenge at all. His eagerness for experience also stemmed from the fact that his progress in improving his physical might had slowed to a crawl. While he could spend a lot of time studying (and he did enjoy it most of the time), he was getting sick of staying in the same place and doing the same thing for so long. He wanted some action.

With that in mind, he had decided to take the direct route and straight out demand that Itachi take him on a mission. Demand may have been a strong word, but it should be noted that Naruto _despised_ stagnation, and that was exactly what he felt was happening.

So, having met with Itachi again - though it was becoming slightly rarer as the teen furthered his own career - the blonde had decided to finally outright ask after the training session was over. Today was a typical day, Shisui having not come, and the sun was shining.

He was currently locked in a rather heated staring match with the teen after asking - demanding - that he be taken on a mission. After a long silence, instead of outright denying his request, Itachi asked a simple question, "Why?"

Naruto had a number of reasons, but stagnation wasn't one he'd give Itachi. It wouldn't be believable that he had hit his current limit so quickly. He could try to pester Itachi for more techniques to expand his repertoire, however that was more unlikely an event. Itachi, despite only entering his teenage years, was a perfectionist of the highest order and refused to teach more until what he had taught had been mastered to a suitable degree. A suitable degree in Itachi's book being quite similar to his own definition. If he showed that kind of mastery after having just recently been introduced to chakra, well that would open up questions he didn't want to answer. This route was safer in the long run. Finally, he settled on an answer he knew Itachi would accept and one that just opened an opportunity for him that couldn't be passed, "I'm sick of staying in the village all the time and I want to explore more. Get some experience in the real world."

It was a reasonable and true excuse, one Itachi would interpret partly as him wanting to escape the distaste the village had for him. Itachi may want him to make some friends his age, but they both knew how unreasonable and unlikely that was.

His prediction proved correct as after a solid 30 seconds of silence, Itachi gave an affirmative grunt. Just as he was about to thank the man, Itachi spoke again, "Why are you so set on going on a mission? Most people don't do that until they're fifteen or sixteen today."

Naruto knew this of course. People could start entering their children into the shinobi academy at six years old if they so wished, but many people - especially clan kids - held off as they didn't teach lessons very fast these days and it didn't give clan kids any advantage. Some civilians used it to pawn off their kids for a while as a daycare or to try to give them a head start.

The typical age to enter was eight, and even then, the curriculum was still pretty low standard in his opinion, even when lowering his rather high standards. It was more for socializing now than anything as both the Hokage and the civilians didn't want their children to face the reality that was the ninja life style too early, though for different reasons. So now the average ninja graduated more into their teens than their early teens or earlier as it used to be.

Of course there were exceptions to that, Itachi being the prime example today, having graduated at 7 years of age. An impressive feat, especially in peacetime, even if it was just on the tail end of a war. Though from what he had heard, clan children tended to graduate at least a year earlier than the average, even today.

During war, children were always pushed to mature and become stronger faster or die, as well as the curriculum being sped up. Though that wasn't saying much considering how utterly slow it had become - an all time low due to some civilian interference.

Truly, Genin graduation strength was at an all time low. Some may argue it was a good thing and showed they were demilitarizing in the name of peace. Naruto saw it as a sign of weakness and negligence, knowing that while Genin graduating in peace were almost never as strong as those in war, he was almost certain the other villages had higher standards or at least graduated earlier with the same standards. A cynical view perhaps, but he felt it was realistic. There was still much tension between the village's and he saw this period of peace more as a temporary cease fire.

It was, after all, quite difficult to get those who had fought and killed each other's comrades to work together. Even if a great threat was looming on the horizon, people were stubborn and it would certainly not erase the animosity between them. Peace, in the blonde's opinion, was an illusion, never permanent. People also held different definitions of peace, thus making it an arbitrary concept to begin with. That, however, was a debate to be had another day.

For now, Naruto answered the Uchiha's inquiry, "I know you took missions when you were still younger than me, and I know a few people still do, even if it is rare. I feel like I'm ready to go on a low ranked mission and I want to see a bit more of what the outside world is like. The world is a big place, and I won't stay in these village walls forever, I'm just getting a head start."

Itachi stared a bit more before nodding at the answer and leaving.

Unconsciously smiling a bit from the seeming approval, he left for a deeper part of the woods where he could slip away from Itachi if the teen had decided to stick around and headed to the Forest of Death.

* * *

The Sandaime Hokage was having his high from whipping the civilians into shape slowly die out as the days continued.

First he had found out that a new village had seemingly popped up out of nowhere, one hidden well enough that Kumo couldn't take them out. Normally he'd be wary, but fine with a development like this since he didn't like wiping out people merely because they may present a potential threat. He preferred a peaceful road when he could find one. Negotiate an alliance rather than commit genocide (again).

Unfortunately the new Otogakure was being problematic for a number of reasons. The first was that even Jiraiya couldn't find the village proper, something impressive considering Jiraiya was putting quite a bit of effort into it. The only info they had was that it was almost certainly in the Land of Rice. It also looked as if the village had a number of branches rather than a single, centralized location according to the way their movements went from the little information Jiraiya had gathered on them.

Another problem was that when he had sent an envoy to the Daimyo of the Land of Rice to ask to negotiate an alliance, the man had not given them a location or a way to contact the leader or even an envoy of the new village. From what he had been informed, the Daimyo even seemed fearful when talking about the leader of Otogakure, even if he had hidden it well as all politicians were accustomed to. While those who didn't regularly deal with shinobi could be easily intimidated and impressed, the kind of fear that would make even a Daimyo of a minor country shake in his boots was not someone to take lightly.

Daimyo were the rulers of the land that they controlled and maintained their power via the samurai army they commanded. While samurai generally couldn't hold their own against shinobi, their numbers made them a fearsome force. There were of a few very notable exceptions to this rule - the top guard of the Daimyo of each major country and Mifune of Iron country were the main ones. The people of the Elemental Nations also accepted samurai more than shinobi. It was one of the main reasons why there weren't more shinobi - very few who were born outside a shinobi village wished to be one. Shinobi were also generally seen as dishonorable warriors who you couldn't trust too much or they would stab you in the back, a reputation not entirely false with certain people. The few not put off by rumors were often deterred by the suspicion they'd elicit from the paranoid group.

Shinobi were typically still accepted as patrons in most establishments and public opinion was slowly getting better, but they were always treated with a level of caution the honorable samurai weren't treated with. It was one of the numerous reasons that shinobi didn't just trample on the Daimyo's land, take it for themselves, or kill off the Daimyo. It was pointless to do so if an entire country was against you afterwards, and shinobi could only fight so many samurai despite being the generally superior combatant.

It was one of the many reasons shinobi started to form villages. Many had wished for a land to call their own and no longer live the life of nomads. Besides that, the Daimyo were finally starting to gather themselves and form formidable army's rather than the rag tag groups barely considered a military that used to be more common. If their previous way of life had continued, there would no doubt be very few shinobi left. They would've eventually been hunted down and overwhelmed. Luckily, when the major villages had formed, the Daimyo still only had a fledgling army and led to a favorable agreement on their part. The village would be left to their own devices for the most part, but could be called upon in times of war to help the army the Daimyo commanded.

They were basically independent and even the Great Shinobi Wars - as the name implied - were fought mainly between the shinobi villages. The Daimyo may involve themselves occasionally, but as long as they stayed away from too many towns under their control they overlooked the chaos. Of course the Daimyo liked to stay out of the actual battlefield and instead bring the conflict to the arena of politics instead of having their lives of luxury interrupted by war.

For a person to intimidate a Daimyo to the point of near subservience, a few conditions had to be met. The first was dubious public support that led to a weak army. A contested seat of power for the Daimyo could create this pretty easily, something the Land of Rice had with two large crime groups vying for power with a puppet Daimyo.

As a consequence of their fighting, it caused a great deal of poverty throughout the country, thus making it easy to gain support of the civilians as long as the third party could improve their living conditions. It was simple human psychology, help someone - a community especially - in need and they will feel some loyalty to that person and ignore a lot of things they did as long as life kept improving. It had been used in the past and it would be used in the future as it was, to his shame, a tactic he had used in the past to gain the support of people. One he had even resorted to trying on Naruto. He didn't like it, but the security of the village came first.

It seemed that whoever was in charge had a great deal of resourcefulness and resources to gain such support from the civilians as no one would talk about the one who started to improve living conditions. They were by no means comfortable living, but it was still leagues better than what it had been.

Jiraiya had also found that civilians occasionally disappeared, usually orphans or those who had little to no family. It may not be too noticeable, but it would definitely be the residents of Rice Country would have picked up on it. It was likely they were being turned into soldiers for Otogakure, but no one cared much if only the outcasts were taken. It was an unfortunate trait of humanity that they could ignore an incredible amount of horror as long as it didn't affect them personally. There were exceptions of course, but they were few and far between.

Even with taking more people to make into shinobi, it was quite suspicious they weren't looking for an alliance considering many smaller villages would love to have one with any of the Great Five Shinobi Villages. It would also take those training a while to come into their potential, and even their best wouldn't be too great because while those with civilian ancestry could certainly become excellent ninja, they were few.

The simple truth was that those with shinobi ancestry simply had an advantage over those who didn't, typically being genetically more attuned to becoming shinobi. It would take a few generations to churn out shinobi of a consistently decent level.

The leader of this Otogakure refusing even some negotiations of a Great Nation no less spoke of wanting secrecy above all else. Yet another clue that Orochimaru was the one behind this village. He was doing a damn good job of keeping out of Jiraiya's sight too.

That, while concerning, was not the problem he was currently dealing with. No, that honor went to the young man standing in front of him and the request of his student.

With a twitching eyebrow, he spoke to the young man, "So let me get this straight. Naruto wants to go on a mission and has been giving you hints at this for a month now - hints you have ignored - and now he outright asks you and you immediately cave to his demand?"

"He had good reasons," was the only response he got.

The Hokage's eyebrow continued to twitch as he heard the response. Itachi may have been the best shinobi of his generation, but his occasional lack of communication skills was annoying. He knew, of course, that the boy only did this when he felt it wasn't pertinent information; nevertheless, it was an bothersome habit. He could order the boy to tell him, but even then it would likely be vague.

In a way it was endearing and a nice change of pace to find that the usually isolated teen had become such good friends with Naruto that he would conceal the reasons the blonde used to convince him. It was also a reminder of how startlingly similar the two boys were, both isolated with few people who truly cared for them.

They also seemed to have grown closer in personality since their interactions, Itachi seeming to affect Naruto more as expected, but it went the other way as well. Children tended to emulate those they were closest to and Itachi was now likely the one Naruto looked up to the most, thus the changes he had seen from outgoing prankster to more subdued and hungry to learn. Part of that was likely just hidden under the mask he put up and he merely hadn't had the tools to pursue his interests, but Sarutobi liked to think that Itachi had some impact on that too.

Itachi had also become ever so slightly more open with his emotions, even creating more of a friendship with Hatake Kakashi. He had no doubt they would be good for one another - Kakashi having experience turning from cold and detached to more flippant, if not open, and (slightly) more accepting of company.

With a sigh, he decided that it would be best to just let Naruto take a mission. Perhaps it would be good for the boy to get out of the village for awhile. Itachi also tended to have good judgement despite his age, so he trusted the young man's opinion. "Very well, I'll allow you to take a mission to assist with a hunt for food in a nearby village. Is that satisfactory?"

The Sandaime caught a glimpse of an ever so slight expression of surprise overcoming the Uchiha's face before it was gone once he blinked. He smirked a little, the boy had probably expected a courier mission to start with, not a hunt. It was a somewhat odd request after all, and teams typically started with courier missions or the like once they showed competency with one another before taking a C-rank.

Regardless, Itachi gave a nod as he answered, "Yes that is satisfactory. Thank you Hokage-sama." Without another word, he was out the door.

Hiruzen let out a short chuckle after the boy left. It was good to be able to get a reaction out of the stoic boy, it showed that he still couldn't predict everything. Though if he were to be honest, he was even slightly surprised with himself for agreeing to let Naruto assist in a hunt. He supposed the few times he had used his _**Tōmegane no Jutsu**_ to look in on some of the blonde's training sessions had aroused his curiosity as to how the boy would react to something like hunting.

From what he had seen and Itachi's reports, Naruto was occasionally unnaturally excited to spar. A battle lust if you will. The boy was also leagues above even the Clan heirs of his generation, and all of them had received at least some sort of training, even if it was minimal. It was phenomenal to see his rate of growth. If he wanted to, he may even be able to become a Genin at this point.

Still, his rate of growth was almost too phenomenal. He supposed it could have come from the harsh conditions he had to live through or some prior training he did on his own, but it was still nearly unbelievable. He could have given another mission to test the blonde, but he had seen a glimpse of something in the blonde's eyes when he was sparring Itachi, something that was beyond just battle lust.

It was the look of a hunter, one who would stalk their prey. Naruto may not be anywhere near Itachi's level right now, but that look… That was a look of a predator ready to fight for their fill. It was intriguing to see a look like that in one so young. He supposed that it was a possibility that Naruto had hunted for food before and thus gained that kind of look. Hiruzen wanted to see if he really could stalk an animal efficiently to scout for any potential the boy might have for tracking.

* * *

In a dark office deep underneath Konohagakure sat a man with white bandages wrapped around his head. His short black hair and ran across his nearly shut right eye. Beside his desk was a wooden walking cane. This old man sported a fair amount of wrinkles, a scar in the shape of an x on his chin, and an arm held up by a black half-robe that came up at an angle to his right shoulder to act as a harness for his arm. Under the black robe, he wore a white shirt.

Overall, he looked like a fairly nonthreatening, if battle-scarred veteran that could no longer fight.

This could not be further from the truth. This was the Yami no Shinobi, Shimūra Danzō, still one of the most dangerous shinobi in the world despite his wounds and age, much like his old teammate Sarutobi Hiruzen. However, unlike his old teammate, he was a man willing to commit any manner of atrocities to ensure the continued safety and prosperity of the leaf.

The difference in their ideologies often had them clash on matters of philosophy and action, Danzō wanting to take a more militaristic and harsh approach, while Hiruzen tended to lean more towards the diplomatic side of things. Because of this, Danzō had taken control of and maintained a group designed to work even more off the books than the ANBU, created by the Nidaime Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

Danzō had used this group to do the dirty work of the leaf that even the ANBU shied away from in the name of keeping the Leaf safe. Hiruzen knew of some of his old friend's machinations, but turned a blind eye as he did see the benefit of such an organization despite his distaste for it. It was this negligence that let the Yami no Shinobi change the organization, Root, from its original design.

Having always been a man of even more dubious morals than shinobi typically held, Danzō had turned the organization darker, or as some would argue, more shinobi-like. Since his takeover of Root - the Foundation as some called it - he had added training to rid prospective Shinobi of any emotions, becoming nearly mindless weapons for the leaf. This was something taught in the academy but in a different style, context, or, more recently, in a way that would have kids mostly disregard the rule stating that a shinobi should not let their emotions interfere with the mission.

Danzō took this to the extreme, seeing emotions as a weakness more than a potential strength, and thus had adopted a training method similar to how Kirigakure operated - he paired potential candidates with another recruit and eventually forced them to do fight to the death. A show of loyalty and proof they'd done away with their emotions. The man had also taken to finding young, talented prospects from surrounding villages or orphanages to turn into weapons of the Leaf.

Regardless of all these changes, it was clear that this old man valued Konoha above all else, thus when a threat presented itself he sought to neutralize that threat. Alternatively, if an asset presented itself, he did what he thought would make the most use of that asset.

Unfortunately for a number of people in Konoha, he saw many as threats who had even a tiny chance of desertion. Uzumaki Naruto was one such target of observation, and one of, if not, the most watched one. With his heritage as well as being the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, he could be the greatest asset Konoha would see this generation. Unfortunately, as with all Jinchuuriki, there was always a threat of desertion due to how they were treated.

It was for this reason that Danzō consistently pushed to make the boy loyal to Konoha and give him ties here. At the very least, he wanted the boy trained as the weapon he was meant to be, but many civilians disliked the idea of giving the boy the means to lash out, so it was difficult to look for a situation where he could have the boy trained, either by one of his men or Sarutobi's. By this point he was starting to get a little desperate to allow any one of Sarutobi's soldiers to train him - he knew his old teammate would never allow the boy to join the Foundation.

This was why he pushed for the boy to be secretly trained, keeping the civilians ignorant and happy while simultaneously continuing to back him and preparing a weapon. Sarutobi had rebuffed his every attempt, saying that the boy deserved to have a childhood like all others in the village, a naive view at best. The boy was too different already.

Danzō still inwardly scoffed at the notion that any Jinchuuriki could have a normal childhood. All Jinchuuriki were destined for hardship the moment they became one - there was no normal for them. But then Hiruzen had always been an optimistic one as he got older, especially in regards to the village.

Regardless of the reason, Hiruzen had refused training for the boy for too long, so when those four Uchiha had been caught torturing the boy, he had been as close to ecstatic as his limited range of emotions allowed. Now Hiruzen really had motivation to train the boy. There were a number of people he thought the Sandaime would assign to teach the boy, people that were, in his opinion, far too soft and blind in the teachings of teamwork can overcome any obstacle. While he admitted teamwork was a valuable asset, it could not overcome a great deal of things. He'd have been dissatisfied with the choice, but it was better than nothing.

Fortunately, Sarutobi had surprised him by picking none of those people. He picked a boy, a talented one, but a boy nonetheless. Uchiha Itachi had been picked and he hadn't even been on the list of potential sensei's he had guessed at.

The choice to let an Uchiha train a boy who had just been attacked, and was consistently discriminated against, by Uchiha was an odd one. He suspected some sort of involvement with the Uchiha heir and the rescue of the boy, but he could find nothing concrete. Regardless of the reason, Danzō found himself pleased with the choice of sensei for the Jinchuuriki.

Despite his suspicion of the Uchiha, he could not deny that Itachi had a nearly unquestionable loyalty to Konoha. Not only that, but even as young as he was, the teen was fairly hardened and a realist first and an idealist second.

Overall it was a decent day for him when those four Uchiha decided to take out their frustration on the container. The only downside to that day had been the Uchiha gaining some public support that they had lost in the aftermath of the Kyuubi attack due to the potential of the Sharingan to control the beast as proved by Uchiha Madara.

He saw the Uchiha much like he saw Naruto, an asset, but a threat. Recently with the Hokage taking the boy's side, as well as some discrimination against them from the Kyuubi attack, he had heard whispers of replacing a senile Hokage. As of now, they were only few and far between, but it had the potential to spread into something bigger. While Danzō was no fan of Sarutobi, he admitted that his old teammate was a competent leader, if not as harsh as he was in his youth.

He also saw the only one with the possibility of doing a better job of being Hokage than Sarutobi as himself. Senju Tsunade of the Sannin was no good with her alcoholic and gambling problems, not to mention her lingering depression with the death of her lover and brother years ago. Someone like that was not fit to be Hokage.

One of the only other real contenders who had the strength befitting a Hokage was Jiraiya of the Sannin. While he admitted the man could be serious and had the potential to be an excellent leader if he could focus, this choice had many downsides as well. For one, the man acted very immature most of the time, with a reputation in Konoha for peeping on women to gain 'inspiration' to write his smutty book series, Icha Icha. It may have partly been an act; however, it was an act detrimental to political dealings. Danzo understood it was mostly a way for the white-haired man to cope, but it was still an enormous waste of time.

Another problem was that, while he kept helping Konoha, the Gama Sennin was also drowned in depression, even if he did a better job of hiding and dealing with it than Tsunade. The man still refused to come back to Konoha out of depression for the loss of his student's life, even to check on the Jinchuriki, who he strongly suspected of being the man's Godson. The last time he had come was shortly after the Kyuubi's rampage. Compounding the suspicion of Naruto being Jiraiya's Godson, or at the very least holding at least some care, was the boy receiving some toad themed gift for his birthday. It was not difficult to guess who would do that.

Now he only had messenger toads in contact with Konoha. And despite having to grudgingly admit it, he knew that Jiraiya was one of, if not, the best information specialist and spy on the continent. It would be detrimental to Konoha to lose such a good resource because he knew that even his network couldn't hold up against that man.

With those two out and nobody quite ready or wanting to be Hokage left, that only left him. Now the only decision he had left to make was who to side with if this discontent rose any further. Whichever side he picked would need to have the conflict end quickly, otherwise it would open up Konoha for attack in the middle of a civil war.

If he chose to side with the Uchiha, he may be able to convince them to make him Hokage, but it was a long shot. The Uchiha, and anyone with some knowledge of history knew not to trust him lightly. They would probably want an Uchiha led village.

Not only did he not want that, but it would be near impossible to kill Sarutobi and round up shinobi supporters to support the changing of seats. He had no doubt the Uchiha could convince the civilians by offering them their weapons head or something similar, but they would not be the deciding factor in a matter like this. To many shinobi, Sarutobi was like a grandfather. He was someone they could trust and his teachings were instilled in them. It would be near impossible to get enough to switch loyalties and maintain the manpower required to stand up to the other nations.

Hiruzen, despite not being terribly active due to managing the village, was still one of the strongest shinobi in the world. They couldn't afford to lose him in the near future.

If he chose to side with Sarutobi, he could more easily manipulate the outcome in his favor and gain things he wouldn't should he side with the Uchiha. Not to mention it would likely be over much more quickly if he sided with Hiruzen.

With this in mind, he resolved to keep a more careful eye on the Uchiha. Perhaps even let an anonymous tip lead to more public suspicion of them.

* * *

Naruto was quite pleased the following day when he found a note on his kitchen table stating that arrangements would be made to make sure his presence outside the village would not be noticed. It was as good a confirmation he could get that he would soon be going on a mission.

Knowing that Itachi wouldn't be seeing him today, he made some breakfast and then made his way to Training Ground 44. As he moved through the branches of the utterly massive trees of the Forest of Death, he couldn't help but muse to himself on how helpful the bunker he had found was - he only wished he could understand most of the things in it. Some were in a short hand he couldn't read and others were just too advanced for him to properly understand. It could get rather frustrating at times when running into books so far beyond his knowledge; however, it was also exciting because it showed just how much more he had to learn. Aside from the library, it gave him an armory to work with and the ability to practice with a number of different weapons. He wasn't proficient with any of them yet - he tended to get sidetracked with theories, reading, or experimenting (with poisons or otherwise). There was also the fact that he had no one to teach him which, while normal for him, was still slower than having a teacher.

Luckily, there were some scrolls of katas that at least showed some basic movements to a style for every weapon there. Some went into more detail than others, but it was a start all the same.

He also realized how it was somewhat childish to want to be proficient with all the weapons in the armory. While it was good to have experience with more than one weapon, it was only those who were weapon specialists that dreamed of trying so many. Fortunately, he had an advantage by way of _**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**_ to learn faster, and while each weapon was different, there were similarities between many of them. In particular, there were many different types of swords.

Finally reaching his destination, Naruto dropped down the trapdoor as the Fuinjutsu powered lighting came on.

It was always so peaceful here. No one to interrupt him and he had some targets just outside if he ever wanted to test something or take out his frustrations. He had to choose his targets wisely and not in this section of course. This part of the forest was still too dangerous for him if he went picking fights.

Grabbing two handfuls of leaves and very small pebbles he had prepared in a basket, he made his way to the library as he set about getting the leaves and rocks to float just above his skin. While the leaf floating exercise was taught to even academy students to control their chakra output and increase reserves, many dismissed it after learning tree walking. While not very useful with only a couple at a time, Naruto saw no reason that you couldn't increase its difficulty by adding more things to do.

Many considered increasing the number of leaves an ultimately irrelevant effort when compared to other exercises. Naruto disagreed. By continuing the exercise in unorthodox ways and unusual locations on the body, typically underused parts of the chakra system were used. It was something that helped with channeling larger amounts of chakra - a detail that went largely ignored as brute force practice accomplished something similar over a longer period of time.

Naruto did a number of things to increase the difficulty of the exercise. For one, he used many objects and forced himself to not just expel chakra over a large area to hold them up. Instead, to consider the exercise a success he forced the area of expulsion to be as small as possible - about half the size of the object at largest. Another layer of difficulty was added by using heavier objects, sitting upside down on the ceiling, or walking around a room - walls and ceiling included. He was also experimenting with trying to make the objects orbit him. So far he had very little success on that front.

In addition to these added layers of difficulty, the blonde tried to multitask while doing so. Reading, mixing some less harmful chemicals, and the more monotonous exercises were all things he had combined the simple exercise with. It showed in the library as well, because as soon as he walked in, he could see the table and chair he had attached to the ceiling with stands to keep the books from succumbing to gravity attached to the table.

He immediately got to work on the book he had left off on. It was a book on how chakra in different doses and potency affected wildlife and agriculture. It was quite interesting to read the results of the experiments and he felt it was something he wanted to try personally at some point.

Chakra mutations were mutations that occurred due to a plant or animal - usually an animal - being around unusually chakra-saturated land. They gained odd abilities and generally became overall stronger after prolonged exposure. They were fairly commonplace in ninja villages with so many chakra practitioners, but they typically didn't grow to be terribly dangerous, mostly because they were usually cleared out once a month or so. They never had time to become a real problem. A Genin team could handle these chakra mutations and were often some of the harder missions Genin took.

The Forest of Death was obviously an exception to this rule. Konoha generally let those within the forest be, letting them become far more dangerous than they typically would be. As far as he could tell, they did this as a way to have a home grown survival training course and potentially to tame some dangerous beasts. Maybe as a last resort they'd let the most dangerous ones run wild in case of a successful invasion. That was just his speculation though.

This book detailed what sort of differences appeared when different types, for lack of a better word, were exposed to different animals and plants. From what he had read, saturating an area with different Elemental natured chakra would, predictably, give mutations a higher chance of of becoming more attuned with that element. They were almost never proficient with the use of said element, but it was still typically higher than most Genin could accomplish. In addition to this, they became physically stronger and larger.

Another experiment consisted of running regular chakra into the air around test subjects after filtering out the minute traces of element all people had in their chakra. When applied, the subjects had widely varying results. Some recorded a subject turning monstrous in appearance - whether that was extra limbs, a deformed mouth with sharp teeth sticking out, or exceedingly irregular production of saliva. It was the stuff parents told their kids would come to eat them if they weren't good.

On the other hand, there were subjects that developed an elemental affinity. Those that did were almost always recorded as being superior in skill and connection to the element than those of their counterparts introduced to as pure to that element as the researchers could get the chakra to be. An interesting phenomenon to be sure and one that hinted at their being a very real necessity of balancing regular and elemental chakra.

Then there were the ones who developed unique abilities - ones that couldn't be classified as traditionally elemental. Details on these were sparse, but one case showed the ability to summon or materialize feathers. A very unique ability and one that seemingly defied the laws of physics even when applied to chakra. It was theorized that the ones who developed these unique abilities were been latent in their blood, almost like an inactive bloodline, but it was, unfortunately, never researched further.

Even more unfortunate was the loss of the subject that actually developed intelligence! It had even learned to communicate in human tongue - even if it was limited. It was incredible and nothing like the mere mimicry parrots could accomplish. It had unfortunately died shortly after the gained intelligence though the researcher who had written the book noted that the circumstances surrounding the death were odd. By all accounts it had been in good health, the researcher had said.

There were only two parallels to this kind of intelligence Naruto could think of. The first and most obvious were the more intelligent summon animals; however, those were abnormal entities themselves and not a good comparison to regular creatures. The other, more realistic, ones were the rare Inuzuka's ninken. They are highly intelligent and though incredibly rare, some had developed the ability to speak - the Inuzuka matriarch's companion being a prime example.

There were other experiments, but there were only two others that were of significant interest to him. They were the use of Holy and Demonic natured chakra. Both types were exceedingly rare to find in any human as few were 'holy' enough or willing to make a deal with a demon. Naruto was personally skeptical of the requirement that you be 'holy' to wield the element as it didn't have much in the way of proof or specifications on what made one holy. It was further compacted by the fact that there were records of people tarnishing the name of 'holy' weapons by wielding them for terrible purposes.

Personally, the blonde found it odd that you could 'tarnish' a weapon by doing bad deeds. Weapons, no matter their origin, were made to be instruments of death. Weapons were not meant to do 'good' unless you considered the protection of someone else. Weapons were made to kill, maim, or imprison - there was nothing holy about them. Perhaps he just misunderstood why they were called such a thing besides there alignment to being 'holy', often compared to light, while demonic was compared to darkness.

Regardless of that, he found that the results of those experiments had been fascinating. The research group hadn't been able to find people willing to give demonic or holy chakra, so instead they had found creatures that used them.

Demonic was rather easy as there were minor demons popping up occasionally around the continent and they only needed to put out a bounty to capture one alive. These creatures were quite deformed and took on all manner of shapes and sizes, ranging from gigantic to tiny. Despite the large deviation of sizes, they were in no way indicative of the strength of the demon. Though there were exceptions, as there were with everything, a group of Chunin could usually handle one with no fatalities.

Demons were not a popular subject to research due to the high risk capturing and studying one entailed. That wasn't even considering how it made the Daimyo uncomfortable and their history of sending teams of samurai to execute any researchers who decided to study the creatures. Naruto thought it foolish the Daimyo didn't try to understand them and resolved to do some research into the creatures, Demonic, and Holy chakra when he had the resources.

The holy energy was even more difficult for the team to find as they were far more scarce than demons. From what he'd read, this group had convinced a few people to demonstrate their holy chakra and subtly collected it. They had also found one or two holy creatures of some kind, though it didn't specify what they were or where the creatures had been found.

Regardless of the means by which they got it, it was the results that interested him. In both experiments, the subjects gained at least some semblance of sentience, displaying intelligence beyond what was normal. Normally mutations only affected the mind by way of an increase in instincts - for battle or survival. For them to gain some sentience showed a fundamental difference between holy and demonic chakra - and other types of chakra too for that matter.

In addition to increase sentience, the test subjects displayed signs of becoming some sort of subspecies of known holy or demonic creatures, exhibiting unique traits found among them, only to a lesser degree. Demonic test subjects always had an increase in aggression and seemed to crave flesh even if the one affected was originally a herbivore. They also exhibited small signs of cruel behavior such as playing with prey before consuming it.

Holy affected test subjects gained more intelligence while their instincts stayed about the same. Carnivores, interestingly seemed almost regretful when taking their meal, some even trying to sustain themselves on herbs while letting the designated food live. Those who did give an end to their prey's lives were always quick about it, ending the life as efficiently as possible. It was a bizarre behavior to fight inborn instincts of survival to merely let other animals live. It usually took extensive and harsh training to be able to get any animal to ignore their instincts to that degree.

Such effects interested Naruto immensely and he wanted to find out what properties made holy and demonic chakra so unique. Not only would subjects react far differently compared to everything else, but when compared, there were similar results that, to him at least, indicated dark and light were two sides of the same coin.

The effects of those chakra were almost a lesser version of the Summoning Clans that a rare few ninja had, such as the Gama Clan and their contractor, Jiraiya of the Sannin. If he could somehow stabilize and increase it, he could potentially create an entire summoning clan with a number of different species instead of just one. That, however was far outside his capabilities at the moment for a number of reasons. There were so many resources he'd need for that, that he couldn't see it coming true even in the next decade or more.

It was still an interesting concept and gave him a lot to think about, but for now he would focus on research and training.

* * *

 **Ryo** \- currency used in this world. 10 equal about one dollar

Hope you all enjoyed. And I have to say I really enjoyed writing that last part. That kind of thing - exploring the limits of whats possible and creating them is so fun. Tell me if you liked it and what you think about the last part - whether it seems reasonable, if it's interesting and would like to see more of that kinda thing, etc.


	9. Change of Plans

Hello. I've been thinking about the future of this fic and I've come to the conclusion that I should focus more towards the point I want to take it. There has been tons of drawn out build up that I wanted to establish as changes I'm making to the canon verse; however, both to keep myself interested in writing and engage people more quickly with what the main action will be, I've decided to skip to where the action will pick up. Specifically where I start turning this work into a mass crossover. While I think the relationships built and changes I establish are important to note as I have dedicated so long to the build up, I'll leave this and continue to update it in conjunction with a new section. In other words, this will be the prologue. Not necessary to read per say, but it would help your future understanding.

In addition to this, I'm thinking of giving a summary at the end of this prologue so as to give some idea of the differences in universe without having to read near 100,000 words. Also in regards to the pace at which I'm taking this, I prefer slow, deep build up when reading and I just can't let myself skip right past all kinds of things. Plus I love science and theorizing as to the properties of how things work as well as exploring the limits of things. So expect some portions with drawn out explanations on certain events/techniques. If that's not your cup of tea, skipping past it shouldn't hurt your enjoyment.

That said, look out for a new story posting that will be when the action picks up.

Also, if anyone knows how to change the title of a fic so that I can add Prologue to the end of this one, that'd be great. If it's not possible, I'll just have to repost these chapters to one under that name.


End file.
